Embracing the queerful spirit

What if the queerful spirit within us reflects the image of the Divine? Being queerful, doing queer, performing queer, embracing queer. What if queering reflects the image of the Eternal? What if our queerful spirits reflect the queerful Spirit of God. What if we’re called to embody this in our daily living: playfully challenging notions of normal and natural, blurring the boundaries of fixed categories and identity, disrupting binaries, polarisation, extremes, challenging ‘truths’ which are not true – all of which have become ways to exclude, oppress and control?

I’m embracing my queerful spirit. The queerful spirit is ‘something’ deep within us that means we struggle to conform to modern identity categories or norms. Labels just don’t do us or our queerful spirits justice: not quite man, not quite woman, not quite heterosexual, not quite homosexual; not fixed, not static, not certain; fluid, adaptive, creative. It’s more than gender or sexuality, more than sex or attraction; it’s about our whole being. The queerful spirit is the life within that can’t be contained in boundaries set by society, language or expectations. It’s the essence of who we are; it’s the essence of our humanity.

These are the ideas I’m playing around with and researching. What might be the real queer heart of faith? What might creativity, playfulness, imagination and improvisation inspire in us? How might we be released from the shackles of modernity and the ever-faster turning grimy cogs of capitalism? How might we disrupt those things which privilege the few, disturbing and deconstructing colonialism, gender, sexuality, race, class, ableism, religion, sex, politics, society, economics, education?

I see the queerful spirit as something which seeks truth beyond the surface, delving into the depths of reality, not accepting simple convenient romanticised notions that fit into snappy social media posts, but chewing over the complexities of any given idea or situation. Rarely landing at a final word, but open to re-queering.

I see the queerful spirit reflecting the creative energy of the Divine, looking for ways to recreate, reshape and renew, not afraid of embracing new emerging ideas or technologies. Open to playful exploration, discovering the goodness given by the Source of all life who enables and inspires our creative potential.

I see the queerful spirit as joy-bringer, caught up in the Divine work of releasing all life into its fullness, resisting those things that limit, destroy, exclude and oppress. Not to switch power from one group to another, but for all to discover the deep love of the One Love through a shared love for each other – recognising that there is so much good to be embraced.

The world needs transformation, liberation, release. What if we’re being called to embrace the queer in us all? The queerful spirit that just knows something has to change, that something doesn’t quite fit, that the so-called certainties of our very existence have got tied up with false narratives, and while seeming so natural and normal are actually the root of all our problems.

The queerful spirit notices, meditates and challenges, not to destroy or harm, not to shame or embarrass, but to open the possibilities of full life for all, playfully disrupting the norms that exclude, limit or disable life.

The queerful spirit queers everything: the way history is told, the way we read texts, the way we interpret religious writings, the things we watch on telly, how social media algorithms manipulate, art, music, shopping, sex, gender, books. You name it, we queer it.

The queerful spirit isn’t constrained to words or language: it’s about sounds, smells, sights, sensations, tastes, emotions, feelings, intuition, art, music, inspiration, spirituality. It’s more than rational argument, it’s the whole of our beings embodying our God-given lives for goodness, for interconnectedness, for life.

The queerful spirit is deeply reflective, embracing all the senses to reflect, ponder and meditate, connecting with the Divine. No human sees reality as it ‘really’ is, and the queerful spirit knows this, ever reflecting on its own place in the world, its impact and how it might make others know love and experience joy.

The queerful spirit copes with ambiguities, uncertainties, fluidity, change and tensions without trying to impose solutions and easy answers, or attempting to iron out creases. It holds onto multiple voices, letting them swirl around, searching for deeper meaning, holding things loosely, ready for new truths to emerge – aware that paradigm shifts really do happen.

I’m embracing my God-inspired queerful spirit, embarking on a journey of discovery, spiritually tuning into the rhythm of the Divine, the heartbeat of love, hoping that I might find something worth sharing. Here in this little space on the web, I’m musing, pondering and reflecting what this all might mean… in the hope that together we might shape a better world.