Reply To: The last ten years of contamination and checking ocd. And where I seem to be now
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Do you remember the comfort of sitting on grass? The uneven surface of the ground helps with comfort, and the grass has a nice feeling on the hands… Is it dangerous? What, All of it? Even the ‘clean’ bits? It is natural. We haven’t always had carpets to walk on… The Romans in their baths didn’t have anti-bacterial soap as far as we know, so how have we all survived? Maybe, just maybe, we are a little more resistant than we think we are… We need a certain amount of bacteria around us, or we are gonna lose our immunity… Our nature is adapting all the time, what is needed, stays, that that isn’t needed, disappears, to allow for newer threats to be combated. This process is going on in us all of the time, without us needing to go over the top with things. It’s as much a part of us as digestion is. Natural bodily functions… A lot of the bacteria around us, actually needs to be there, in our own environment, we are biological creatures, so it is important. We really mustn’t try to be too clean… If we but allow it, our natural systems can, and indeed do, a lot to protect us. We are quite resilient, but if we go to far with cleanliness, we could sacrifice the resilience, and become dependant on anti-bacterials for ever. But, as they aren’t fully natural, they could become a threat, rather than a support to us. Where would it all end? Could it be that the worry, is greater, than the perceived danger?
In a supermarket we can buy fresh strawberries… On the packet, it probably says ‘Wash before use’, but that is only to protect the supplier. Just like milk bottles have a warning ‘Contains milk’. But, Strawberries? What about the packet? It will have been handled by everyone… The shop staff… The strawberries… How could we clean them? Just water isn’t enough for worktops in the kitchen, not by our standards… But it is most certainly okay for strawberries… Anything else would ruin the flavour… So… Can we risk it? Others do, every day… Everytime we go to a barbecue… Is everyone else washing and antibaccing their hands continuously? Really? Let’s glance bravely around us… Why do we feel driven to wash our hands? Are we really protecting everyone around us? Are they as clean as we are? Really? Do we really have that much influence?
I would wash my hands until they were red raw… The thing is, by doing so, I was actually doing more harm to myself, than I ever could anyone else. And they weren’t washing their hands at all… If anyone could be at risk, it would be myself, because I was destroying my natural immunity. Would I wish that onto anyone else? Of course not… If someone were to wish it to me, how would I need my natural defences to be? Let’s both of us do that then… And wait and see what happens…
If anything were to, could it possibly be down to me? By the evidence we have, it would be extremely unlikely, wouldn’t it? So there is no point trying to shoulder the blame. We are as good as anyone else, with equal rights. Assert the right not to try and take the blame. There is no blame to be had… It is just one of those things…
God bless you for reading…
Wannabe