Yesterday I commented online, about a blog post on the subject of weirdness.
Tim Tamashiro , explored the redefinition of the word suggesting we are all weird, that we all need to accept and embrace this about ourselves and one another.
My blog post is inspired by this very enlightening and unexpected bit of weird information I found today on, CBC radio, while listening to the show Quirks and Quarks. I learned about the Bone Eating Zombie Snot Worm.
Ellen Prager's book, Sex, Drugs and Sea Slime is an entertaining, fascinating and an important read, which helps the average person understand how vital the sea and sea life is to our own lives. Through learning and understanding the living creatures found within , we in turn learn about ourselves.
I love learning about the unexpected uniqueness and diversity of living creatures. My curiosity was really sparked this morning, and the name of this weird worm was the most unique I'd ever heard, the most imaginatively named and hilarious.
This leads me to reflect on a book I read many years ago, The Spirituality of Imperfection, by Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketchum, which discusses the important role of story telling and it's meaning in culture and how this relates to spirituality and imperfection.
He relays one amusing story about the root word of humour, humility and humanity which is from the root word humus, which of course is, worm shit. He states we need these three qualities in order to live a spiritual and happy life, regardless of our religious persuasion.
" I am not perfect is a simple statement of profound truth, the first step toward understanding the human condition." - The Spirituality of Imperfection
Our own imperfections could be seen as weird, like these sea creatures, however we have much to learn about our own humanity from them, as Ellen Prager's book states.
I know I have an out on the edge, somewhat black sense of humour, which has always served to help me through life's unexpected challenges and struggles as a creative person. I believe the Creator of all, has a similiar sense of humour.
Worms have a lot to teach us. The humble earth worm has five hearts! God knows we could all benefit from having more heart!
2 comments:
This is a very interesting post. I especially noticed your observation of the root word hu in the words human, humorous, etc. Interestingly enough, the word HU is an ancient name for God (pronounced like the man's name Hugh)which can be sung out loud (as in HUUUUU) in a long drawn out breath as a sort of prayer, meditation, or love song to God. Many surprising and wonderful results have been reported by people who use this word.
Well I've learned something from you Betsy. Hu I did not know that was an ancient name for God. Very intriguing! Thank you for enlightening me! After taking a class in linguistics this Spring it has even more significance to me.
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