Wednesday 16 February 2000

Pic of the day: Well, that would be me, again. Now in new, tired version.

Got a call from an old friend. Actually the Old Friend, the woman whose wedding I wrote about last spring. Nice hearing from her again. They have a child by now, and are expecting another later this year. I hope it all goes well. Funny how I have loved her so much for so long, and still don't feal jealous. Well, one could say, of course: You weren't lovers like that. Just friends. And that's true enough. But I am not sure that explains it: Many parents are jealous when their children find the love of their life. (As are many children when their mother or father finds a new love. Sometimes siblings too.) I think when someone is always in your heart, it can be hard to let them go.

My own parents have been absolutely great that way (and many other ways too). I never felt anything possessive from them, not even a tug. They truly acted as if I was only entrusted to their care, not given them as a property. They would control me only for my own good, and no more than necessary. I guess I have it from them, then, this lack of jealousy. It is ironic, isn't it, that it stops here?

It is written in the holy scriptures of Jews and Christians alike, that the man shall leave his father and mother and stay with his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. It certainly has not always been practiced that way, not even in the more liberal sense. Of course, there is nothing said about the wife leaving her parents, so I guess they are bound to tag along... :)

It certainly strikes me as ironic, in a funny sort of way, that I know few men who have left their father and mother so completely as I have. (Though in all honesty this was made possible by their willingness to let me go). And mind you, I like my parents. (And now that I'm grown up, I even like my brothers!) Anyway, I sure haven't stayed with any wife. Then again, to the best of our knowledge neither did Jesus. Well, not entirely a fair comparison...

Well, enough with the boring relationship stuff. Today I had proof that God lives and sees our hearts. I walked through town to the office block where I work, and passed a large sign advertising "colon hydro therapy" for various kinds of sicknesses. It does not take a lot of latin and imagination to see what a "colon hydro therapy" is ... I made a mental note about the mentally disturbed people with an unhealthy fixation on their rectum as the source of health problems, and the tragic childhood background. As I arrived at the office block, I felt a growing pain in my abdomen. Some minutes later, my long forgotten haemorrhoids were twisting in cruel and unusual pain. Hmmf.

Luckily it seems to be over now, as soon as I had learned my lesson. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Wonder how long I'm going to remember it, this time?