It’s Just Not Natural
12/26/2009
That’s what I overheard the man say as he downed his fifth beer, “It’s just not natural.” He was watching the trail of information crawling across the bottom of the screen of the t.v. set hanging over the bar. It announced that another state legislature had approved same sex marriage. “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” he proclaimed, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
Who’s to say what is natural and what is not? Some religions believe it is unnatural for a woman to cut her hair or a man to shave his face. There is a tribal custom in a country in Africa that requires all women be circumcised, allowing only men to have sexual gratification. They believe it is unnatural for a woman to seek pleasure. This custom reinforces the male dominated hierarchy allowing men to objectify and control women’s behavior.
It was once believed it is unnatural to fly. People said, “If man were meant to fly, he’d have wings.” Perhaps they were right. Maybe we weren’t meant to travel so quickly. Our bodies don’t naturally move that fast. Maybe we should walk from place to place instead of drive in cars or fly in planes. Of course that would take us an awfully long time and it wouldn’t be very practical.
I enrolled in a yoga class recently and after my first class, nothing about yoga seemed natural. The downward-facing-dog position seemed especially unnatural. I kept thinking to myself, “Surely this can’t be right.” But in time, it was easy to see the benefits of this “unnatural event.”
Personally, I think velveeta is unnatural. I’m pretty sure that’s not the way cheese is supposed to taste. In 2002 the FDA warned Kraft Foods that velveeta was being sold with packaging that described it as a “pasteurized processed cheese food,” which the FDA claimed was false. I ask you: How can any cheese that doesn’t have to be refrigerated be natural?
Maybe we should stop worrying so much about what is natural and what isn’t. Perhaps that is best determined by each individual, particularly when it comes to people who love one another. I happen to believe that anytime people are loving the world is improved and heaven sings. Surely there are no natural boundaries to love. And surely any God that exists would take pleasure and delight in seeing its creation find happiness.
One of my favorite quotes is by the renowned English playwright and poet, Dorothy L. Sayers. She wrote, “As I grow older and totter toward the tomb, I find that I care less and less who goes to bed with whom.”
In conclusion, I think the man at the bar who bellowed out his opinion as to what is natural and what is not should keep his mouth shut. His ignorance keeps announcing itself.
