Wednesday 14 January 2009

The haunting passages are back...

I haven't been blogging for a while because I'm not at home and I don't have regular access to the internet. But I've got lots to blog about, when I get round to it, including (1) a strange half-awake dream, (2) a realisation that a friend deeply needed the experirence of wholseomeness and that I'd been focusing way too much on the duty side of things, and (3) a colleague of H. who explained his preaching routine to me and who deliberately toned down the exhortations because he was wearing out his parish (basically he spends one week teaching, two weeks reflecting on real life issues, and one week exhoruitng the parish to do something with their faith).
But anyways... there I go opening the catechism of the catholic church at a random page. Art 909 pretty much sprang out:
"Moreover, by uniting their forces let the laity so remedy the institutions and conditions of the world when the latter are an inducement to sin, that these may be conformed to the norms of justice, favouring rather than hindering the practice of virtue. By so doing they will impregnate culture and human works with a moral value."

Why should the rats have all the fun?

I'm a bit evangelistic about... Regena Thomashauer (whose message I adapt as I go because diamonds are not my best friends). Seriously... cheesy or not, that woman is inspired. So let me quote from her last newsletter:
"I recently read about this fascinating study that was conducted around 20 years ago called Rat Park. The researcher surmised that most of the studies done on addictions were incomplete because they didn't take into account the quality of the lifestyles the rats were living. So he had one group of rats in their small isolated cages, while he built a rat nirvana, dubbed "Rat Park," for the other rats. It was spacious; it had many common areas, places to play, mate and have fun. Rat boyfriends, Rat girlfriends, Rat childcare, Rat exercise, Rat catered meals, Rat cheerleading, and Rat support. We are talking ideal rat conditions. Think Canyon Rat Ranch, 24/7. Both sets of rats were given access to both plain tap water and water laced with morphine. What do you think happened?
Yup. The rats in isolated cages became hooked on the morphine. Chose it almost every time.The rats in Rat Park? Went for the tap water. That's right. Even when they laced the morphine water with sugar to make it sweet (and let me tell you-rats love sweet stuff!) they went for it once in a while, but for the most part they drank the plain tap water.
But how does this apply to us as women, Mama? Think about it. Many of us have put ourselves in our very own isolated cages. Having been raised to "do it ourselves." Whether it's earning our own money or raising our children alone, or moving to a new city without knowing anybody, or getting into a routine of working long hours and going home so exhausted we don't want to pick up the phone or connect with anyone. Well, my loves, maybe we CAN do it alone, but it's not really the way a woman is designed.
Like our little rat friends, we thrive in community. Actually, we thrive in community when it is loving, supportive, and uplifting. If you're lucky enough to have that in your life, congratulations. It's certainly not the norm. I had a taste of it in college, living with my girlfriends, always together, part of each other's everyday lives, every decision, every celebration, every challenge. And after graduation? Isolation. And so began my pursuit of creating a human woman nirvana in this crazy day, and this crazy age. I mean, c'mon. What option did I have? We are designed for pleasure. If we aren't living a fulfilled life, we're gonna get our pleasure somehow. Unfortunately, overeating, overspending, antidepressants, and alcohol are poor substitutes for what we truly are searching for: careers we are passionate about, bodies we love and appreciate, a legendary love affair, time to create, a thriving bank account, a healthy, hot sensual life, and connection with our children [or add your own drem]. So, what's the solution? Community. And Pleasure."