Now it was Meen’s turn to explain. “If with ‘bacteria’ you mean the small organisms inside our mouth, I have to tell you that they are actually not only in the mouth, but they are everywhere in and on our body, in our eyes, nose, stomach, lungs, and intestines. For us, we don’t consider them to be dirty. If we would regard them as ‘dirty,’ then that would mean that our whole body would be dirty, too. But there is actually little difference between us and bacteria; we only function differently.”

“Trying to get rid of those little organisms that have a very specific function is like destroying a natural mechanism. You have bad breath because you have removed the very organism that eradicates bad breath. The result: you then have bad breath, and it’s as simple as that. Here in this world, no one has bad breath, and no one has dental problems,” he explained.

“What I want to say is that the reason you believe you have to clean your mouth is because of the paradigm of ​​separation. You are separating yourself from uncleanliness. You reject dirt. You desire cleanliness. You try to keep everything clean. Cleanliness is the destruction of various mechanisms and systems in your body. You catch diseases, I mean diseases caused by those small organisms, because of this idea of separation,” Meen explained further.

“What! Do you mean the diseases that cause sickness come from one’s desire for cleanliness?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Meen replied decisively.

“Oh my, how can that possibly be?” I asked.

“Let me give you an example,” Meen continued. “Suppose you keep a new born baby in a closed room with an air purification system, absolutely free of all of these tiny organisms, and then have that baby live in that room for a few years. When he or she grows up and comes out of that closed room, and breathes natural air for the first time, that child will be sick all the time. Do you know why?” he asked.

“Uh … I don’t know,” I admitted.

“Because cleanliness has unnaturally separated the infant from everything. Later, when the child lives in a normal environment with bacteria, the body won’t be able to cope,” Meen replied.

“But we do have to distinguish between cleanliness and normality. To give you an example; we can drink clean water without any impurities, and it can be colourless and odourless, but it shouldn’t be too clean because then it no longer contains any minerals and certain bacteria that are beneficial to the body,” he added.

“I have to say, normally, in my world, we would brush our teeth at least twice a day, and take a shower at least once a day. Would you define that as normal?” I asked.

“We must consider if that is suitable with the respective climate, terrain, and quality,” Meen replied, and his response confused me again.

“Which quality?” I asked immediately.

“The quality of the food and the environment, of course,” Meen said.

“I think there’s no need to explain the appropriateness or suitability of the terrain and the climate. If it’s cold, we don’t shower. But if it’s hot, we do shower. In my world, however, we never shower, neither in winter nor in summer. For us, when we immerse ourselves in water it is not for the purpose of cleaning ourselves, but rather to enjoy it and to play. It’s because of the quality of the two things that I have previously mentioned: the quality of the food and the environment. Although it’s warm in some areas, our body emits perspiration, saliva, and waste matters that don’t smell bad due to the pure air and clean food that we eat. So, we don’t need to shower and clean our bodies. The clothes that we wear, even when worn for months, do not smell either,” Meen explained.

“Really? You never shower at all?” I asked with an incredulous look on my face.

“Not at all. Anyway, after breakfast, I’ll take you to play in the water, or even better: I’ll treat you to a bath. In fact, you will still have to do what you’ve always done because your body still emits strong odours,” Meen offered.

As he talked about bodily functions, I felt that my stomach was starting to react and become a bit agitated. Usually, I do my morning routine around this time, so I looked around, both inside and outside of the house but I couldn’t see a bathroom.

“Meen, I’d like to use the bathroom. Could you please show me where it is?” I asked, with a sense of urgency.

“Feel free to use the field. We don’t have a lavatory,” Meen answered. He got up and got a small shovel and a water bucket.

“Here you are, take these,” Meen said and handed them to me with a smile.

I felt tempted to remark that the lavatories in my world were much more civilised, but my belly didn’t allow any time for that. I quickly grabbed the tools and ventured out to find a good spot while considering telling them afterwards how far behind I thought their world was in the area of sanitation. To squat in the field to conduct one’s private business hardly exists in my world anymore.

I went straight to the stream to get some water before heading to the only bush I could see in that area. When I found the right spot, I started digging a hole. The soil was very dark and crumbly so I could dig easily and soon the hole was big enough. While I was relieving myself, it occurred to me that this was surprisingly enjoyable. I got to breathe fresh air, to see the sky, and to smell the earth. After all, human waste is a natural fertiliser for plants. We don’t need to create tools or a waste management system. Even though it wasn’t as convenient and comfortable, in that moment I did feel more in harmony with nature, and this action also does not cause any inconveniences with other systems.

When I was done, I cleaned myself before giving the ‘fruits of my labour’ a decent burial. It seemed that Meen and Napa also regularly used this area to conduct their private affairs too as I saw traces of recent diggings and ‘burial’ mounds. I did notice that there was no unpleasant odour at all, instead, a rather nice fragrance of earth and leaves was in the air.

On the way back to the house, it struck me that this could be an example of what Meen had mentioned earlier about a non-separation or encompassing idea. If we regard our waste as a dirty thing that needs disposing, then we create the process of cleaning. But if we wouldn’t regard it as dirty, the waste could actually be beneficial to other things.

“That was a thought sent by me,” Meen said with a broad smile, as I walk back into the house.

“Huh? What was that?” I asked, uncertain of what he was referring to.

“The thought that just popped up in your head came from me, and you heard it,” Meen explained.

“Whoa, is that so? I thought it was my own idea,” I replied.