It’s beautiful to see that even a small town like ours, lost in the midst of the stunning Andalucian countryside, is all inclusive and supportive of the LGBTQ community. So much so that a day is set aside to celebrate diversity in all its facets. It's not something we should have to do because nobody, in the world, should ever be made to feel like they don't belong or fit in. Every human life is valuable and deserving of being here.
It was lovely to see how many turned out to show their support, have a drink, maybe a meal, and lend an ear to the various artists performing on a small stage that was set up in the main town square under the clock tower. What was even lovelier was seeing the mayor showing his support too; sending a clear message to the community that everyone is welcome in Jimena de la Frontera.
It made me feel proud to be a small part of this community; a community that makes an effort and doesn’t exclude people on the basis of their intimate choices and inclination. Nor does it exclude people on the basis of their nationality. In fact, if you ever get the chance to visit Jimena de la Frontera, you’ll encounter an array of nationalities. There are Moroccan people, British people; people from Romania, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, USA, France and there are at least 5 known Italians (including me.) These are just some of the nationalities of people I’ve met personally. I’m sure if I went out a little more often I’d encounter more.
Everyone lives side by side with their diverse religious preferences, cultural differences and sexual orientations. I have never seen anyone fighting over the supremacy of their beliefs and choices. In fact, on the contrary, as per my first blog, the tendency is that people help each other. Jimena de la Frontera is an example to the world of how there is enough room for everyone.
I’m not saying we’re a perfect society or that we don’t have our issues but, we all need to remember that nowhere and nothing is Utopian. Everything and everywhere has flaws but, it’s up to us a community to iron those flaws out and create the environment in which we’d like to live. To quote Gandhi, we all need to be the change we wish to see in this world. That change starts with us and our immediate surroundings; our interactions with people within our community and expands ever more to include the country we live in and the world at large.
If we spread a little joy, share a smile wherever we go, show a little kindness and compassion, we can create a heart-warming ripple effect. Our one small gesture has the potential to travel around the world and touch the hearts of many. Trust me, I know. When I travelled around the world as a professional Singer, I shared much joy with hundreds of thousands of people and realised two things. The first is that people everywhere, aside from a few elements, want to have a roof over their head, enough money to pay for essentials and a few non essentials, share good times with family or friends and not live in fear. The second is that we can be in the most remote of places and still bump into someone we know or someone who knows someone we know.
It has happened to me here in Jimena de la Frontera and I know it’s happened to other people as well. My Sicilian grandmother use to say: “Tutto il mondo é un paese” - (All the world is one country.) If we look at it that way we’d see we are one human race.
When we’re spreading joy, it’s very difficult to feel hatred. In my humble opinion, when we stop judging people and expecting them to live according to our own expectations, we’re left with acceptance. With acceptance, we find understanding. Understanding leads to compassion and with compassion, we start to build the foundations for eliminating prejudice and wars based on hatred. It’s a step in the right direction to finally create a peaceful world where we could all live alongside each other.
Last night, Jimena de la Frontera shone a little light in the town and today, I feel honoured to be able to share that light with the world wide web. No matter where you are in the world, if you’re reading this, who knows, maybe one day we’ll meet in Jimena de la Frontera.
Como la vez pasada, la versión español estará listo en un par de días (más o menos) :-)
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