Sex...
Drugs...
& Rock n Roll...
The Den
Take your pick of any of the three subjects above...sex, drugs or rock&roll...and you can say this about it...At one time or another...
We all need it...
We all want it...and we all have certain ideas and opinions about it...
We try different varieties of it...we play with it....
We want to share it with others...it is exciting...
We are told it is bad...
We deny it...we can get sick without it...
We go overboard with it...we get sick with it....
We embrace it...we find what works best for us...we get healthy with it...
We...I...you...at one time or another...probably even now...big and small...
Have questions about it...sometimes lots of questions...
Because we are human...we are animals...
It's how we got here...we need it to survive...
Without it...at worst...we die...
With it...at best...we thrive...
Sex...Drugs...and Rock&Roll...these are fundamental to who we are.
More about this course...When I speak of "drugs" I'm using the term in the loosest possible sense, including...not just illicit, prescription, nonprescription, recreational and conventional drugs, like nicotine and caffeine...but also food. And I think that's valid considering that foodstuffs, just like drugs, are chemicals we put into our bodies...some of which may be better for us and some of which may be worse...and furthermore, whether these chemicals act in our best interest or not, is always a matter of dose...that is, how much of it we eat. As the old adage says. "Too much of even a good thing can be bad for you." I think this perspective applies equally well to sex, which again, I'm using the term in the loosest possible sense.Also, just for effect, I'm using the term "rock&roll" to represent music in general, which in turn I'm using more as a pedagogical device than an actual subject of the course...though, now that I think about it...looking at lyrics from certain songs might be instructive for the other two subjects... especially given that many musicians have much experience in those two departments, and therefore much to teach us (whether this makes them experts or guinea pigs...well, who's to say). Anyway, Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" immediately comes to mind. So yes, let's include instructive song lyrics as part of this course.February 12, 2009
It's appropriate that I begin this course today, on February 12, 2009...for today is the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin...and it was exactly 50 years later, in 1859, that he published his landmark book On the Origin of Species. It was within this book, based on a lifetimes worth of evidence, that Darwin presented his theory of evolution by natural selection. While his idea was not completely original (indeed, few ideas are...a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russell Wallace was working on the same idea at the same time...which offers an interesting story in itself), Darwin captured the Western world's attention---as well as "the churches'"---in a way that hadn't happened since Galileo's big splash. But whereas Galileo was showing us that the Earth is not the center of the Universe, Darwin was ultimately showing us that neither was man. Just as the Earth is one among many planets circling a common Sun, humans are one among many animals sharing a common planet. Now that may be have been a quite humbling fact at the time, even astonishing and unbelievable considering how long Western culture believed otherwise, but that makes the fact no less true. And yet, here we are 150 years later (which just so happens to be about the same amount of time it took for Sun-centered truth to sink-in) and we are still coming to terms with the fact that we are animals...and the only difference between us and the rest...well, come to think of it...I'm not yet convinced there is any real difference...at least as defined from conventional perspectives (but that's a whole other course). It seems that some truths---no matter how well they are researched, tested and presented---are very hard to accept...and denial is the easier route to take, for awhile at least (a theme that will no doubt recur in this course).In any event, let's stick with the fact that we are, at root, animals. Which is the basis of my premise stated at the beginning of this course. If we deny this fact, we are not only living in complete fantasyland, but we are doing ourselves a great disservice, not to mention damage.Now, including the foundational premise I stated at the beginning, this course is based on the following additional premises:1. When it comes to honest information, more is usually better than less.
2. Any amount of honest information is always better than any amount dishonest information.
3. No information (as in "just say no") is only an invitation to exploration and experimentation...and a risky proposition.
This course is intended for mature audiences only, of whatever age. If you feel uncomfortable dealing with the subjects of sex and drugs, I think that's natural...just hang with it a while and see how you feel along the way. If you find these subjects are too difficult to deal with or you feel they are just too private to talk about, that's ok, perhaps another day. If you find the subjects of sex and drugs offensive, disgusting or out-of-bounds...I simply remind you this course is optional. I don't claim to be an expert in sex, drugs or music, quite the contrary in fact. I'm a pharmacist by trade, and while I know much more about drugs than the person not so trained, there's simply too much information, expanding and changing all the time, to consider myself an expert in the field. And even where there are the so-called "experts" I would not give my full trust. There are simply too many unknowns at this point. And I think the same can be said of sex, especially in this age of wider options, opportunity and exposure.Therefore, we can expect this course to be filled foremost with questions...the explorations of which may guide us to possible directions. Ultimate answers, like finding one's favorite songs, are left for the individual, and various arrangements of individuals to decide. The final and Golden Rule in this course, involves respect and responsibility, and all must abide to be here. Judgement of what's "right" and "wrong" is reserved in terms of what's good and bad for YOU, not for others. For these are very personal matters. In interpersonal matters, mutual consent is always absolute.Honesty, integrity and accepting personal responsibility is essential, expected and required in this course. No scapegoats can be sacrificed here to absolve us of our mistakes...for mistakes are there to learn from, not as sins...but as lessons for growth and evolution...the only lasting absolution.Fair enough? If you agree...Welcome aboard fellow drifter!
photo courtesy of friend who wished to remain anonymous
