sexy

"You can't be connected with God until you're at peace with who you are. If you're still upset that God gave you this body or this life or this family or these circumstances, you will never be able to connect with God in a healthy, thriving, sustainable sort of way. You'll be at odds with your maker. And if you can't come to terms with who you are and the life you've been given, you'll never be able to accept others and how they were made and the lives they've been given. And until you're at peace with God and those around you, you will continue to struggle with your role on the planet, your part to play in the ongoing creation of the universe. You will continue to struggle and resist and fail to connect."

[Rob Bell, 'Sex God']

This passage really challenges me. I love this idea of sexuality being rooted in a desire to connect...a counter to our current state, which is disconnect - from God, ourselves, others, the earth, etc. We feel it and see it and hear it. We know that things are not as they should be. C.S. Lewis talks about people having a sense of right and wrong, the universal understanding that it is not ok to harm others, or to deceive others - even though we all do. It's the understanding that this is how things should be, but this is how they are. Disconnect.

So it is in connecting to others and to God and to our surroundings that helps us feel alive, to feel purpose, to feel "right". That things become more like they "should be". If this is what I'm going for, how then can I be implicitly disconnected with myself because I can't accept this or that? When I divorce a part of myself from myself out of repulsion or dislike, I split that which was meant to be whole, to be cohesive. This will inevitably alter how I relate to others. How many people have issues opening up and connecting with people because of an insecurity (nonacceptance) within themselves, leading to dissension, jealousy, fear, anger and a general breakdown of relating? I know I can attest to that.

Rob Bell then goes on to tell a story about his son asking what sexy meant....his wife replied that sexy is when it feels good to be in your own skin...when you love being you.

The full acceptance of yourself. The ability to then accept others as they are. Now THAT is attractive.

Here's to bringing sexy back.