The Joy of Farting

It is often remarked about babies' first apparent smile that "or they might just have gas". Well just possibly passing gas is the first truly smile-worthy thing to happen in a newborn's life. As it is with farting, so it is with life, I suppose - first the grimace, then the grin; a sort of flatulatory yin and yang. The grimace-causing pain of a newborn's gas yields to the grin of its uninhibited and unselfconscious expulsion. As we morph into adulthood the pain too morphs, from physical to social, but the pleasure persists, however guilty. It is a basic pleasure of life that knows no age limit, that requires no "stuff" to appreciate, and that transcends all cultures, means and abilities.

It even has its philosophical connotations. Having viewed it through the eyes of my new son, I see life lessons in facing all-consuming pain, dispatching it with as much vigour as can be mustered, and then putting it firmly behind you, so to speak. There are also life parallels in having others help you clean up any remaining mess. And after it all, there is the grin-worthy satisfaction of having made it through it all and appreciating the ensuing peace.

I always wanted to write something poetic about farting :)