Sexuality is a topic I keep cycling back to. Pregnancy has caused me to re-ask, "Who am I as a sexual being; and furthermore, what does sexuality look like throughout the lifecycle?"
Throughout my journey of discovering who I am as a sexual being I keep having to reintegrate it into my personhood over and over. It seems I was raised to believe that my sexuality is something outside of me, something separate. Perhaps this is partially rooted in the belief that our bodies are not to be connected with because they are fleshly and prone to leading us astray with their impulses and desires.
"How ironic that the very religion that has believed that God became flesh has been the most consistently negative in its relatedness to human flesh" (Rohr)
Jesus came to earth in bodily form and stated that our BODIES (our flesh) are as a temple, they can't be that bad then, can they? Ever notice how comfortable African people seem to be in their bodies? Their spirits, emotions etc. seem to be united with their bodies, they seem as one -- connected. Perhaps accepting that my body and its urges and expressions are good may make exploration and the integration of sexuality easier.
Seemingly, our bodies and our sexuality are dumbed down to humour in our culture. We often hear comments of bodies not being slim enough, boobs being too saggy, and our sexual appetites being measured. When was the last time you heard good body talk? Our bodies and sexuality are powerful, especially when integrated...
