Skins I have
shed:
2003: fear of alcohol.
2004: religious exclusivism.
2005: creationism, homophobia.
2006: belief in human depravity, belief in moral absolutes, belief in human separateness from 'nature'.
2007: possessiveness in relationships, fear of sexual expression, fear of using naughty words.
2008: theism, reliance on self-denial as a self-concept, prejudice against mind-altering substances, prejudice against feminism, belief in the 'purity' of my own motives.
2009: monogamy-ism, assumption of own heterosexuality, prejudice against causing pain to others, belief that motives can or should be 'pure'.
2010: reliance on alleged physical inhibition and perpetual 'observer' status as a self-concept, desire for marriage?
So, here I am: a 'woman of the world'. Maybe all I've done is to become progressively more and more normal. Assimilated. Most of those skins were the things that previously set me apart from the surrounding culture. Sometimes I still feel tacky when I swear and drink and flirt and pursue what I want, and fear I'm becoming closed-minded and predictable when I criticise unpopular positions like creationism and homophobia.
But maybe being
mindfully normal makes a difference.
Or maybe, given that I am a part of this human organism thing, it's unsurprising and probably positive that what humanity is learning as a collective body is reflected in my individual outlook. So I guess another skin in process of shedding is 'separation from the surrounding culture as a self-concept'.
Or maybe who gives a shit. (oops, trashy)
Oh, also, I still find myself judging others who do these things. Swear and drink and flirt and pursue what they want, and hold conventional opinions. That's why I feel tacky when I do them - because I feel like 'one of them'. Something is out of place.
