I heard a story that has stuck with me this week. I thought I'd share it out. tell me where you fall the sun, the earth, the moon, or like me, part of the dirt.
According to Aristodemus, there were originally 3 sexes. The children of the moon, who were half male and half female. The children of the sun, who were fully male, and the children of the earth, who were fully female. Everyone had four arms, four legs, and two heads, and spent their days in blissful contentment.
Zeus became jealous of the human's joy, so he decided to split them all in two. Aristodemus called this punishment "The Origin of Love", because ever since the children of the earth, moon, and sun have been searching the globe in a desperate bid to find their other halves.
Aristodemus' story though isn't complete, because there was also a fourth sex, the children of the dirt. Unlike the other three sexes, the children of the dirt consisted of just one half. Some were male, and some were female, and each had just two arms, two legs, and one head.
The children of the dirt found the children of the earth, moon, and sun to be completely insufferable. Whenever they saw a two-headed creature walking by, talking to itself in baby talk voices, it made them want to vomit. They hated going to parties. When there was no way to get out of one they simply sat in the corner, too bitter and depressed to talk to anyone. The children of the dirt were so miserable that they invented wine and art to dull their pain. It helped a little, but not really. When Zeus went on his rampage, he decided to leave the children of the dirt alone. "They're already fucked" he explained.
Happy gay couples descend from the children of the sun. Happy lesbian couples descend from the children of the earth. And happy straight couples descend from the children of the moon. But the vast majority of humans are descendants of children of the dirt, and no matter how long they search the earth they'll never find what they're looking for. Because there's nobody for them, not anybody in the world.
This story sits with me because when I read it, I feel a sense of peace. The podcast was giving an interactive test. For some this story won't have an effect. "Crickets." For others, joy, actual joy, which is strange for such a depressing tale.
For me, I genuinely felt the latter. But to be honest, before they explained, I thought that I had did something wrong, or that I should listen again to the story and pay more attention to what I'm feeling (trust me, I don't need more of that). The more I think about it, the more I understand why it's such a sharp distinction between the two experiences. I am lonely.
This story releases that. It releases me from everything in my life telling me that I'm missing another part. After hearing this story, for a fleeting moment, I am no longer alone. It is the exact opposite; I am the vast majority.
I may find someone to accompany in life, however, I am the only one who makes me feel whole. And now I have this story, a story that explains why I am the way I am. Maybe not, why the way I am, but it takes away this unbearable weight that I'm missing something. I am not missing. I am not on this earth to find another half, but to find the harmony within myself... and that's okay.
It's okay to be just that... a child of the dirt.
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