A Case for Action:

It is estimated that 1 in 20 people in Washington, DC is living with HIV/AIDS. I am one of them. Perhaps you are too, or you know someone who is. After my diagnosis, I found myself engaged in a daily struggle for survival—physical survival, emotional survival, social survival. I found myself faced with a choice—to live in hopeless resignation or to fight to retain a sense of dignity and a future worth living into. What I saw next was shocking—that way of living was not substantially different from the way I was living before my diagnosis! But now I have an excuse called HIV.

I am not yet well-connected to the HIV/AIDS community here, but I know that my experience is not unique. It is entirely predictable that many of us will continue surviving life rather than sucking the marrow out of it (thanks, Walt Whitman). We will rely on our own fortitude and perhaps, if we are lucky, a close circle of friends and loved ones to constantly regenerate a purpose worthy of getting out of bed in the morning. We will continue to endure life, hoping to find something to look forward to.

I’ve had enough of that. Today I am not limited to resignation or struggle. I have a third choice—playing like there is no tomorrow. I WILL NOT be defined by a diagnosis or by my past. I WILL go hang gliding. I WILL dance until dawn. I WILL open myself to love because I am worthy to receive it. And I will not settle for a hollow victory of doing it on my own. I will not rest until each person in our community can say that they are living the life of their dreams, with or without HIV.

Imagine all of us managing HIV/AIDS inside of life lived to its full potential rather than surviving life inside of what it “means” to have HIV/AIDS. Imagine the HIV/AIDS community being a source of inspiration for all of humanity, leading the way to a future of play, celebration, and full self-expression for all. Let’s create the unpredictable future—the “impossible” future—the one that was never going to happen. Let’s celebrate ourselves and each other. Let’s play!!

If you are inspired by this future, click here to see how you can be involved. You have something to contribute—there is room for everyone!

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