To clarify my earlier statement about my "issue" with body odor:
Please forgive me if I came of as a complaining, sniveling, put-upon-by-my-bodily-functions
whiner: oh poor, poor me with my B.O. issues, and how awful it was that I
suffered silently encased in a down parka for damn near 3 years of my awkward
teenage life. I just wanted to share one of the things that makes me
human.
Smell is such a strong word. And, like music, it is a very personal
preference. That lesson came from my father. It is what he said to
my brother and me when Brother was taunting me over my current enthusiasm for
disco. My dad scolded Brother for teasing me and said "Brother,
Sister, music is a personal preference." This applies to a lot of
things in life.
As an example, I am O.K. with a little patchouli. But most ppl I know
say that they hate it and it reminds them of dirty hippie. It is a
delicate choice for sure and should never be used to cover up "I haven't
bathed in weeks" body odor. That's where the 'dirty' comes from and
this practice should be stopped immediately.
The two pungencies just don't do well together.
All of that aside, my true confession about my body odor was more
motive-driven than anything. Not only am I eager to find new ways to
repair my damaged drainage system, but more importantly, current research is
positively brimming over with research on the correlation between smell and
pheremones and their link to desire and intimacy. Could it be that all
the while I have been living in my secret, silent shame and beating back my
personal smells since as early as I can remember, it is my personal signature
scent that makes the decisions about who to let into my life? Can I trust that??? I means sure, a keen sense of smell was a key
factor in keeping our ancestors safe from predators, but has this sense devolved
as we have become physically safer (from beasts OTHER than ourselves)? Or perhaps it has not necessarily devolved,
but is just a bit rusty as we have relied more upon our eyes and our trickster
minds to lead us around by our noses?
Curiouser and curiouser....no?!
So please treat this Report as an open invitation to get real about body
odor preferences and discover the TRUTH about how men and women
feel about their own (and others') smells. I think what we might find is
that the truth is damn near a complete 180 degree turn from our current
programming.
Tuesday...Monday's bastard child. Please be kind to your fellow travelers today.
;o)
No comments:
Post a Comment