Butt-Licker (A Metaphor)
My family's dog won't stop licking his butt.
It's loud. And slurpy. And incessant. It's definitely a sign of some unknown medical issue. It's disgusting, aggravating even, but you can't help feeling bad for him. So why doesn't anyone do anything about it? And why do we yell at him to stop when really, he can't help it?
Maybe it's the same reason why no one has stopped our loud, slurpy, incessant thing. That thing we do that everyone has learned to quietly step over.
The things we do that makes us, and others, feel miserable. It's small, it's constant enough to seem mundane.
Is it truly kind for us to ignore it? Or is enabling it a softer form of cruelty?
I, for one, know I have my own version of butt-licking. I've been biting my hangnails since I was ten years old.
Or let's go bigger and talk about the way I tend to "Irish exit", always leaving without saying goodbye.
Some would call it a quirk. I'm not afraid to call it what it is: annoying. Maybe hurtful. And sometimes, revealing a lack of self-awareness. Selfish.
It's a symptom of something else, something that could fester into a bigger issue down the road if I'm not careful.
If you're honest, you know you lick your own butt (metaphorically, I hope). And part of you hopes no one will call you out on it.
Fixing it takes a lot more vulnerability and work than I'm ready for.
But I'll take my dog and his butt to the vet.
And while I'm feeling brave, I'll give myself a once-over too.
-R