Wash Away

In the disinfecting craze that has been my life this past week, I've been pondering our society's obessession with cleanliness. We spend a lot of money on cleaning products and their various accessories (those ridiculous swiffer sweepers, to name one). We are also very anxious about germs, and it is the norm that almost every place we visit offers antibacterial gel in a dispenser.

As a child, I was always uncomfortable around "muck." I didn't like swimming in lakes, I hated finding bugs in my house, and I couldn't stand sand or dirt in my clothes. As an adult, I have fought hard against these anxieties, and have forced myself into plenty of situations (mainly while camping) that have allowed me to become more comfortable with the dirtiness of the outdoors.

It's one of my goals as a parent to be able to intoduce my daughter to as much dirt as she likes. This sounds slightly crazy, I know, but I hope that it allows her to be comfortable in nature. If we ever hope to fix the problems with our environment, the first step is to end our separation between nature and what we perceive to be our lived environment.

Here is a great song by Joe Purdy, called "Wash Away." And yes, you hear this little ditty during the Dawn soap commercial. But this is not a plug for Dawn...it just so happens that so many indpendent artists' lend their songs to commercials these days.

I got troubles oh, but not today
Cause they're gonna wash away
They're gonna wash away

And I have sins Lord, but not today
Cause they're gonna wash away
They're gonna wash away

And I had friends oh, but not today
Cause they're done washed away
They're done washed away

And oh, I've been cryin'
And oh, I've been cryin'
And oh, no more cryin'
No, no more cryin' here

We get along Lord, but not today
Cause we gonna wash away
We gonna wash away

And I got troubles oh, but not today
Cause they gonna wash away
This old heart gonna take them away