I was reading a book on religion and trans-ness last night in preparation to tell my sister, who is a fundamentalist, and I was literally dumbstruck by a chapter 7, entitled “Gender as a Calling.”

Rather than seeing transgenderism as a medical problem to be corrected, a psychological incongrence between body and spirit, or even a quirk of societal organization, I look at my experiences of gender as the following of an invitation of God to participate in a new, whole, and healthy way of living in the world–a holy invitation to set out on a journey of transformation of body, mind, and spirit.

I’m not religious at all, but I was struck by how you can change the terms you use to look at your life and that simple change makes all the difference. I remember thinking something similar about 4 months ago: “what if being transgendered is not a curse, as I’ve felt all my life? What if it’s a blessing instead, and by “giving in” to it, I’m not losing a battle, but actually winning?” It was a weird flip-flop of perception, but it has helped a lot.