Grooming Avant-Garde

Notes about the self : V

 

 

 

 

 

' Venus doing her toiletry ' is a famous painting of that illustrious lady undertaking her daily grooming.  It hints at the classical notion we have of styles, beauty, self identity and personality. We  relate to that today with some self-posessiveness and not without a little defence. We all hope that we bring the right measure of vanity to it.

 

The man who conveyed the civil nature and significance of such concerns was reported to have been killed by a boar. This is in obvious reference to others who do not as yet understand the significance of beauty and its relation to civilization.

 

Today's devotion to the eros natures engages many new styles but it comes with a defence against boars. Beards, especially the day-old shadow has grown popular. Hairstyles, well groomed with the incredibly popular ' gel ' is here to stay. Dressing in casuals, T-shirts, jeans, checkered shirts and sneakers convey the relaxed look.

 

Then there's the health angle. Diets that alternate between meats and carbs, measured for needs ensures a trim body and profile. Then there's the odd suggestion for a greater handling of the profound and obsessive natures.

 

Storing a collection of a person's favourite sauces and using it to prepare mild soups and ' pick-me-ups ' helps to deal with the ravenous. Switching product brands regularly renews a person's interest in food and other consumer products. Using mouthwash to alternate with brushing reduces stress. Shaving the inner thigh reduces sexual obsessions.

 

A collective experience of oneness, by the self, brings many different bed-fellows together. Eventually it brings back the boar to contact the eros natures. It has to be worked at … not with indifference, but with an appreciation for the signficance of each. The nature of the human brings together many willful desires but they don't necessarily contradict each other.

 

As in the mind so in the body. A failure here would mean traveling down the thorny road of bigotry and hidden impulses. But haven't all of us been down that road before?