The new chastity

This one makes me chuckle. I've had my eye on her for a couple of weeks now; she's some sort of electrical junction box and stands on the corner of a street I pass regularly when I'm out running errands. Her two flaps and the lock were just irresistible, so I finally took my camera along a day or two ago to get the shot, though it wasn't until last evening when I saw how demure she seemed to be that I realized the perfect name for her: Chastity.

But to me she doesn't represent Chastity in the old-fashioned don't-lose-your-virginity-till-you-marry sense. I think she's all about becoming -- and remaining -- a whole person.

The goal of growing up, it seems to me, is about building a life that's full and rich, ripening with meaning and purpose. You want that life to be open enough to allow new people into it, but not so full of gaping holes that you become a sort of human vacuum, desperate for someone else to fill the empty spaces you can't even admit are there.

Because then you find yourself working overtime to keep those pieces in your personal puzzle, even when the shape of the hole changes and they no longer fit. And when you get to that point, the constant rubbing of the edges just makes everybody sore.

After I finished that last line, I published this post and ran off to Pilates class. But when I got into the car and punched in the music, what was playing was this, my all time favorite Michael McDonald song, I Can Let Go Now. I've always loved the song, though I could never quite figure out what situation the lyrics were addressing until this morning, when I realized they fit perfectly with the post. So, since I just saw him on the finale of American Idol (what can I say: I love Lee, but I really REALLY wanted Crystal to win) it seemed appropriate to post the lyrics here. The song is truly beautiful; you can listen to a clip here.

It was so right, it was so wrong
Almost at the same time
The pain and ache a heart can take
No one really knows

When the memories cling and keep you there
Till you no longer care
And you can let go now

It's wrong for me to cling to you
Somehow I just needed time
From what was to be-it's not like me
To hold somebody down

Chorus:
But I was tossed high by love
I almost never came down
Only to land here
Where love's no longer found
Where I'm no longer bound
And I can let go now