bison and love

 I recently went on a field trip with my students to a hidden treasure in the city, the National Museum of the American Indian.  The building itself was gorgeous, with tall pillars and a beautiful spiral staircase.

In the introductory room with all the typical "Indian" things such as a teepee, paintings, hunting tools, and animal hides; our tour guide explained that the nomads hunted buffalo (bison?) and how each part was used for specific things. They were a people dedicated to being responsible for the whole animal... fur, bones, meat, soul - and they didn't believe in wasting any part of a living creature. 

I had this memory just now because we made a (somewhat rushed and dissatisfying) trip to my favorite place on earth - Costco! Of course I picked up a rotisserie chicken (just $4.99!) And yes, of course I deboned the thing with my plastic-gloved hands.  Then I proceeded to eat the juicy meat and shoved the leftover boney mess into water (with salt, celery, carrots, onion, garlic ) to make a chicken soup. 

Thinking about the buffalo and the chicken made me think about relationships. When you love someone, you have to learn to be responsible for the "whole animal". No matter the weather, size, mood, etc., you have to accept the person for who they are, and learn ways to make use of every part of them - heart, mind, body, soul.You have to treat each of their parts with patience, grace, respect, and love (no waste!)....

sigh, when will i ever stop making analogies to relationships???