Not for the squeamish

If the secretions of the human body make you go "YUCK!" don't bother reading this. I've been thinking about pus and mucus.

In parentheses, the correct spelling is "pus" not "puss". The later is an affectionate term for a cat.

Pus and mucus often make themselves apparent where there's infection. In consequence they are often regarded as though they were themselves the enemy. We need to re-think this.

I am sure you are familiar with the extensively documented work of Masaru Emoto in connection with the structure of water. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I recommend that you acquaint yourself with it because it is most interesting. In brief summary, Emoto found that the crystalline (microscopic) structure of water could be altered by attitude. In polluted water the structure was chaotic, in pure fresh water the structure manifested as beautiful crystal shapes like snowflakes. But the structure could be changed by words. If he taped onto the outside of a container (facing in) the words "I hate you", the structure would begin to break down into chaos. If he instead projected in the words "You are beautiful" or "thank you", the structure's beauty was maximised.

This has obvious implications for our bodies which contain a huge percentage of water, and for our food and drink. The point of saying grace becomes immediately apparent — it will alter the nature of what we eat. In passing, surely this connects with our thoughts about Eucharist, and the thanksgiving that blesses and transforms the host. It is not merely imagined or superstitious, not even solely a matter of personal belief. There's a scientific component to it as well.

If you think for a moment of our bodies as basically a tube, like the cardboard tube on the inside of a toilet roll, then the outside surface is skin and the inside mucosa. 

I learned a lot about mucous membrane from the death of my previous husband. He developed pemphigoid, which caused the mucosa to break down into wounds and sores, that healed under steroid medication into adhesions gradually occluding his gullet and oesophagus. He was taken into hospital for a tracheotomy, which allowed him to breathe in the last weeks of his life. Mucus and the management thereof became a big part of my life during the months of his illness. I learned that mucus is essential, vital. Think for a moment of the agonising discomfort of a dry mouth, dry throat. You absolutely need all that mucus.

Similarly, pus is most helpful. It is formed from white blood cells sent by the body to encase and expel toxic matter. There are various doorways out available — the nose, ears, skin pores, urogenital openings, throat/mouth. 

If we get a cold or a zit or something else where pus or mucus are prominent characteristics, we often mistakenly identify the pus and mucus as the problem — the nasty dirty thing we are trying to get rid of. But this is shooting the messenger. Pus and mucus are signs of our body doing well, rising strong, working valiantly to maintain our health and protect our wellbeing. 

When we see pus and mucus, we could encourage the shalom of our body's health by responding with thanks and congratulations rather than with disgust. The immune responses of the body are beautiful. The mucus that lines the inner chambers and labyrinths of our bodies is a soothing blessing — like the balm of Gilead.

You might like to pause for just moment to place your hands through which spiritual power radiates, on your throat, that great intersection of so many physical processes, and bless your body — "Thank you, thank you, thank you; I bless you with the love of the Lord."