" 'Eeeww, why do you think of other people's poop?? Ewwww....' " I know what you are thinking, but hear me out.
Pooping is clearly an issue, watch any chunk of commercials on TV and you will see multiple for digestive and elimination aids, probiotic boosted yogurts, premium toilet paper - "so nothing gets left behind", poop perfume (really!) and then prescriptions for chronic digestive issues, which can mostly be fixed by diet alone.
I am amazed and perplexed by public restrooms and seeing residual poop in the toilet bowl. Most people think eww and flee to the next stall. I however, think about the person. I wonder about their quality of life, their eating habits and obvious lack of a properly balanced diet.
Your poop should not be an indication of what you didn't eat. If you leave smear behind, all I think is how sore your bum must be and/or how squishy you must feel, because clearly there was some leftover even though you were "done".
Your poop also shouldn't smell, at least not like run from the room eyes and nostrils burning foul smell. Obviously there will be a subtle aura of poo, but really it should be barely noticeable. Nothing that requires air fresheners, Poo-Pourri, scented toilet paper, a match or even a simple open window (seriously, it is totally possible).
And you shouldn't be straining or in the bathroom long enough to read a magazine cover to cover. Your poop should be firm, but easily passable, easy to clean up, should float to a certain extent and should not leave behind artifacts in the way of smell and smear. See my post Your Poops and Farts are Talking to You for more about how your poop should be.
Which brings me to my thought process whenever I see poop artifacts in a public restroom, or see the irregular elimination schedule of my coworkers or even the habitual eating patterns devoid of any really substance; I always think to myself, when I encounter these people, "How do you poop?"
I know I shouldn't wonder how you poop, but I do. Not because I have a weird fascination with poop (well maybe slightly), but because I know the difference of a good poop and a bad poop. And furthermore, I know the effect of how food choices completely alter the state of the quality and regularity of poop. I also know what it is like to have bad poops for years due to an undiagnosed gluten and lactose allergy. The constipation, the constant wiping, the hemorrhoids, the the uncontrollable diarrhea. I have had a long experience with bad pooping.
I know for me, when I don't poop well, all is not right in the world. So I can only know what it is like for you if you don't poop well. You can't function, your intestines are angry, sore and gurgle-y, your anus is raw, you get tired of always feeling like you need to go to the bathroom, you don't sleep well, you are fatigued, you are irritable, and you dread going to the bathroom yet again hoping the last bit will come out. And just think of the ramifications of waste not getting properly eliminated, but instead sitting stagnant in your colon and lower intestine decaying more. We are allowing toxicity to sit and leech in our bodies because of our bad food choices and not listen to our bodies.
So when I see poop artifacts in a public restroom or see body signs of poor pooping, I empathize with you. I think of what it is like to be there, when I was there, and then I think of all the things I wish I could tell you to help. But I don't want to be that person to say you should do this, eat this, not that, drink more water, etc., because each person has to find their own path and want to fix their own discomfort.
All I wish to tell you is, it doesn't have to be this way. Pooping should be effortless and actually somewhat enjoyable, trust me, when you know the difference and have been on both sides, you too will ask to yourself when you see others suffering, "How do you poop?"
