To Touch...
Or Not to Touch
That is the
Perplexing Question
Body-part touching is confusing
Ears... legs... elbows... knees
Foreheads... anuses... ankles
Lips... the list goes on and on

But why are
some Body-parts
Thought about so differently
Why do
some parts carry so
Much more 'Special Meaning'
Than other Body-parts... why
Are some parts so laden with
Emotion... anxiety... even anger

Why is a nipple so different
Than say a wrist?
Why would the touching of the
One Body-part be commonplace
While the touching of the other
A potential invitation to bliss...
Or to mayhem

How did you already know
Which one was which?


This Body-part touching is
Strange stuff... important stuff
Impacting dramatically on
Virtually everyone's life...
How they perceive themselves
If their intimate relationships
Succeed or fail.. or just settle
Into some ongoing 'limbo'...
Tolerable... but not satisfying

How does everyone learn
Which Body-parts
are so Special ?

Do we just presume they have
Special Meaning because they're
Supposed to be cloaked from view
But what about uncloaked hands
And lips that flop in and out of the
Classification of 'Special Meaning'

Is the 'Special Meaning' label not
Related to the Body-parts
per se
But rather to the
Use of the parts...
For example nipples do not have
Special Meaning unless and until
They're touched by lips or fingers

Or yet another alternative...
Could it be that 'Special Meaning'
Comes from the
Context of the
Touching... meaning Body-part
Touching by one is desirable...
But abhorrent if another touches

And if the Concept of Body-part
Touching is confusing...
What about individuals'
Perceptions
Of this major aspect of a life...
How could they vary so widely

How is it possible that for many
Body-part touching is an avocation
Pursued with vigor... joy...passion
Creativity - yea even desire

And yet for others... Body-part
Touching is a 'make-do' activity
An occasional one...  one endured
Rather than one embraced
Accepted rather than sought
Tolerated rather than initiated

How is all of this possible...

How could the
same activity...
Touching of 'Special Meaning'
Body-parts... be perceived by
The former as exuberant... by
The latter as mediocre

Does everyone start neutral?

And what of the remaining...
Those who perceive Body-part
Touching as the 'pits'... messy
Replete with onerous fluids
Sensations... feelings... best
To be avoided whenever possible
How can an entire core of a life be
Frightened or willed away.
Why ?

How does this happen ?
Who would permit this...

Is the subject of Body-part Touching
Really that complex and confusing
Mightily worthy of the turmoil and
Disarray it often causes in individuals
Families... children... society

Or is the simple activity... Body-part
Touching in and of itself... really just  
Very simple... a
joyful activity that
Celebrates life and
Aliveness... and
Deserves to have participation's cloak
Of shame or deceit removed forever

Could it be
us who are confused and
Perplexed... disarrayed by a society's
Instructions that were built upon idealized
Aspirations from folklore and fairytales...

... And then transmitted
mindlessly from
One generation to another by those
Whose
Quest for Conformity compelled
Them in fear... to teach what they
knew
From their own observations and life of
Body-Part touching... to be false
Often hypocritical... and detracting from
Their own happiness and satisfaction

Who would continue to wish
This insanity upon their
Children's lives?
If one of the pieces seems especially appropiate, think about E-mailing to a Friend... or a Current or Past Intimate Friend or Spouse.