I miss my Mother so much. She was the epitome of acceptance and love. Even while she was a single mother of two with no child support in the early 50’s. Then she found my step-father. When I complain about my step-father moving us 19 times in 14 years I always forget that she had to move this often also.
“Burp your peaches” was her euphemism for a child passing gas.
She loved me no matter what I did. And I always had a meal and a roof over my head.
Even all those energy-generating human functions of digestion and elimination were all okay with her and accepted as part of being a kid.
I do not remember when I discovered I was constipated. From my teen-age years on I have been worried about and struggling with the movement of my digestive track. Farting in front of anyone was never okay. I had to learn as an adult to fart when needed. Even in Viet Nam I was scared “shitless” most of the time. In my 70’s I have finally come to peace with the proper combination of food, exercise and emotional expression to keep all that working with regularity.
There is something healthy about regularity and predictability in all of life. The Freemasons call the Sun the master leader because it can be counted on, no matter what. The regular and predictable Sun. And the blessings of the Sun are distributed freely to everyone, regardless of their socio-economic status.
The fact that there are 52,000 homeless people in LA County has to have a dramatic effect on the health and well being of all us. We cannot simply hope they go away or blame them or justify them without looking at ourselves. And they accumulate their shit all over the city. It seems ludicrous to consider living successful fulfilling, healthy lives when there are 52,000 human beings living on the streets. The emotional expressions of outrage, pity and grief may need to be expressed to our leaders. And expressed to ourselves.
I had to look at all the ways I was living to effect my personal digestion. We may also have to look at all the ways we are living and tolerating that have 52,000 people homeless and without health care or basic services.
They are us; or at least a reflection of us.
My Momma would have accepted them all as children. And laughed when they “burped their peaches” or had to learn basic skills or could not recognize hope.
How about some support for entry-level jobs with a livable salary? Or honest health care for everyone? Or whatever your ideas are as solutions?
Every cell in our body needs acceptance, nourishment and rest for us to feel healthy. Every person in our world needs to have the opportunity as well for a healthy life.
I didn’t mean to smell up the blog space but sometimes it’s necessary to simply “burp your peaches”.
Thanks Mom. I miss you.
