THE GREAT EQUALIZER

     Strip away the jewelry and haircuts and fancy clothes! Strip away the bank accounts and expensive cars! Strip away the divisions of class and culture and all the levels of education! No matter who we are or where we come from, we are all the same. If nothing else, our bodily functions equalize us. We all must eat and sleep and relieve ourselves of waste. We all belch and have gas. We get hurt. We get sick. We get constipated and have the runs. We all bleed red when we get sliced open.
     We put on our wardrobes and waltz through our days pretending that we are above the lowness of digestion and elimination, but we are not. We may hold our noises in and tip our noses at those who do not. It's funny really. We have embarrassment and shame surrounding the very nature of our bodies. It makes us uncomfortable to discuss our functions, and yet, our bodies are the most accessible way for us to understand how alike we are.
     But we reject the obvious. We think we can somehow be above our human-ness. We think we can be above other humans... but in the bathroom, behind the closed door, whether it be a hole in the ground that is lively with flies, or the Plaza Hotel with gourmet soaps and linen cloths, we are all the same. We can dress it up any way we like but it doesn't change the facts. And if we can get beyond our egos for just a moment, and put aside our entitlements and righteousness, our wealth and feelings of being "better-than," or "less than," we may be able to see and clearly understand the great comfort and promise of that simple reality.

I accept that I am fully human, no better or less than any other human, so I have compassion, and I keep an open mind.