September 19, 2004.

Applеsаυcе Anyоnе?

A letter arrived today that brought back some interesting memories. It was from a man who came to the Bеаυty Pаrk about a year ago. He was not too thrilled about having such an establishment in his town and was going to let me know this in no uncertain terms. He was a pastor at the local community church, just down the road. When he came to my door (at 8:00 in the morning on a Saturday, which I thought was rather inconsiderate) I could see a fire burning in his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was a fire from God or the fires of Hell that burned there, but I decided to find out. I asked him to come in and to take a seat in my living room.

"What can I do for you, Pаstоr Mоrrіs," I asked.

"I'll make my stay short, son," he said. I found this amusing since he was no more than five years older than me. "The parishoners of my church don't want your compound of sin and debauchery around here anymore." Again, I almost laughed. The word "compound" made it sound like I was running some sort of cult.

"And I suppose, you speak for all of them by coming here today?" I said.

"Of course," said Morris, "my congregation respects me and looks to me for guidance in these troubled times."

Right off the bat, I knew that if "his congregation" followed his every word, then I would have had the entire town beating down my door, pitchforks and torches in hand, ready to send me out of town "and never come back, neither!" It was only a guess, but I figured that Pаstоr Mоrrіs had less people in his corner than he surmised.

"And, you believe that my 'compound', if it were allowed to stay here, is going to corrupt the entire town, sending us all on an express train straight to the Lakes of Fire below?"

"Well, I know that your sinful practices of allowing women to parade around completely unclothed and that you allow children to witness such lewd acts makes for a pretty strong case!" he exclaimed.

Well, I considered that an accusation, and a false one at that. I decided to make a stand right then and there.

"Lucy, will you come here for a moment," I said, noticing the faint humming of one of these "sinful" women floating in the air in the next room.

In came a tall, effervescent, blonde completely in the buff, smiling that sort of smile that could warm the depths of any cold heart. Her honey colored hair fell softly down her back, a few strands laying across her coffee colored shoulders. Her half-melon breasts swayed ever so slightly as she crossed the room. Her smooth, long legs effortlessly carried her to where we were seated. She smiled at me, her ruby-red lips contrasting sharply against her pearly white smile. Her deep blue eyes cast from me to Pаstоr Mоrrіs.

"Hi, I don't beleive we've met. My name's Lucy," she said, extending a delicate arm out to the beet-red and obviously flustered man seated next to me. He took her hand , giving it the slightest squeeze and let go, as if any longer contact would ensnare him in our devilish web of sin. Lucy glanced at me and smiled a coy smile.

"Why don't you have a seat next to me", I said. Lucy took a seat on the couch facing Mr. Morris. He glared at me with contempt in his eyes.

"I know what you're doing. Your trying to get me to sin in front of you so that you can feel all high and mighty. But it won't work. I won't even acknowledge that she is there. You just want me to admit that I am aroused by her. Well, I can't be aroused by what I don't let into my mind can I?"

"Personally, I don't really care if you are aroused by her. I brought her in here to prove a point though. You said that you refuse to acknowledge her being here. Well, let me tell you a little story. I used to belong to a church like yours where we were told to shun our eyes and our minds to the sight of a beautiful woman. We thought that looking at a beautiful woman was wrong, that we were demeaning her with our gaze, that we were incapable of looking at a woman and seeing anything but an object for sexual arousal. In time, for me at least, that is what they became. By shunning all attractive women from my gaze, and associating them purely with sexual arousal, they were lowered to the rank of sexual objects in my mind. Instead of uplifting them or at the least, considering them equals, I came to resent women. Everytime I walked down the road, and a woman came by me, whether she was wearing anything provacative or just a heavy sweater, I imagined that she was trying to seduce me with her looks. I drove myself mad. I would sneak a look at lingerie ads, at women sitting on the bus with nothing but sexual thoughts running through my mind. I became a recluse, trapped in my own web of deceptive glances and lies. Women weren't the beautiful, vivacious, intelligent beings that I now know they are. And, I was being a hypocrite. All the time I was extolling the virtues of living a "pure" life, I was resenting what that life had turned me into. I was miserable. And then, after discovering the website Body in Mind while on the internet, my eyes were opened. It showed me that looking upon beautiful women does not make them sexual objects, but elevates them to the beautiful creatures that they are. Now I have the utmost respect for a beautiful woman. Now when I look at someone like Lucy, sitting here naked as a jaybird, in all her splendor, I don't feel like I must avert my eyes like you are when she is sitting here. I see her beautiful body, and by ackowledging and respecting her, I also see her as the smart, witty, incredible woman that she is. It makes me so sad that you won't allow yourself to experience the joy that freedom from your so-called 'righteousness' brings."

Pаstоr Mоrrіs sat in silence for several moments. His look of utter contempt had been replaced by a sadness. He sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

"I can see that I am not going to change your mind," he said softly. "I'm sorry for wasting your time. I think I will go now." He got up to leave. Lucy stood up and placed her hand on his arm.

"I hope that you will think about what Bauer said. I believe that once you see women as we believe God intended them to be, admired, respected, then you will finally be truly happy."

For the first time, Pаstоr Mоrrіs looked directly into Lucy's eyes. He didn't say a word, but a faint smile formed on his lips. He slowly gathered his coat and turned towards the door.

That was over a year ago. And today, I had in my hands a letter from Pаstоr Mоrrіs. We hadn't spoken once since that day. I really had no idea what he might say. With some trepidation I opened the envelope.

Dеаr Mr. Westeren,

It has been a long time since we have seen each other. Over the past year, I have given much thought to what you said. As you described your own experiences with religion and "spiritual purity", I could not help but think that you were describing me instead of you. I realized that I had been trying to deny my basest desires because I had always been taught that they were evil. For too long, I was unhappy, miserable really, with my life. I found no joy in anything. I must say, you definitely overturned the proverbial applecart in my mind. Not only that, but it seems that you pulverized the apples into applesauce! After many months of soul-searching, I decided to consult some of my parishoners. I told them of our meeting, and of what you said. Incredibly, they felt the same. They were looking for something in the strict tennants of religion that they thought was as I say above, "spiritual purity". Some have come to believe, as I now think, that what they really were looking for was joy and a way to escape from the hypocrisy they were living in. So, we have come to one conclusion. Several of my parishioners, as well as myself, would like to come and visit with you. We wish to talk with you about your philosophy some more. If you will permit us, we would be grateful. I will wait for your response.

Sincerely,

Pаstоr Mоrrіs

I sat still for several moments. I couldn't believe what my eyes had read. Dіd Lυcy and I really have such an impact on him? Were miracles possible? It was at that moment that the doorbell rang. Perhaps he could not wait for me to respond.

(Pаrt Twо)

Feedback to Bаuеr Wеstеren

© 2004 by Body in Mind

MEMBERS GALLERY

JOIN

MORE GALLERIES