Sometimes it is good to remember this aspect of sex and sexual pleasure too. After all, sex ultimately exists to keep the human race going. The pleasure part is only one reason to have sex, albeit an extremely important one. Bonding with another person is also an important reason for sex. And then there is the transmission of life. It is something we share with all other mammals. It is important never to forget, in our technologically sophisticated world, that we are in the end still creatures of the earth. As we say on Ash Wednesday in the Catholic Church, when receiving ashes on the forehead, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”, an ancient phrase that has lost none of its meaning in our modern world.

Recently after my close call with death I have become more appreciative of the fragility of life, and how much of a miracle it is simply for a woman to get pregnant and give birth. When you start to think of it, it is fairly amazing. And how important are the bonds between a mother and child? I suppose most of our ability to love and express love with others is somehow related to what we share with our parents, the people who created us, gave us life, and cared for us when we were younger. Of course not everyone has the same experience; sometimes, indeed too often, these relationships are not good, but nevertheless the simple biology of procreation is still something to be amazed at.

There is beauty in all aspects of life. The sheer miracle of it all helps me to sustain my belief in God, and how wonderful our world can be. Love is the guiding force of life we all need to partake of more often.