Many years ago while working for some retail blue chip company as a contract sales assistant, I happened to observe someone unfortunately spilling a black fizzy drink on the marble white tiles of the walkway in the shop. Being a client, they profusely apologised and the manager waved away their efforts to get a mop and clean the syrupy mess and the unenviable task fell to the nearest shop floor assistant who happened to catch the manager’s eye (some of us had already perceived the oncoming task and were already busy nitpicking imaginary cotton flint on merchandise that was on display with eyes down cast).
A mop was brought and the effort to cleanse the mess began. After some minutes of trying to sponge off the fizzy drink all that remained was a wider circumference of a messy brownish stain that lead one of the supervisors to ask the mop driver if he was cleaning up or evenly redistributing the spilt fizzy drink on a wider scale.
This incident struck me today as I took a bath. I really mean no offense but how does bathing in a tub leave me cleaner? The water that I cast over my head flows down my body back into the tub taking with it whatever skin would have peeled off, whatever wax my ears would have surrendered etc.The same water rinses my armpits (at times with a new larder and bubble of soap) and flows back into the basin only to be redone again until the whole body is wet and scrubbed. That is when one gingerly steps out of the tub, reaches for a towel and declares self scrumptiously clean!!
But how am I clean when I have been using the same water to ‘cleanse’ myself. How does the soapy, murky water that flows away when I pull the basin plug certify me clean? Honestly if I use the water that removed my dandruff to cleanse my feet does that render me clean?
Change setting. Picture this. One gingerly steps into a shower and rinses from head to toe. The water does not accumulate but flows away with the layers of sweat, grim and dirt accumulated. Actually as the water flows down the body from the head it collects and removes all attachments foreign to the body and sweeps it away to the drain and when one walks away from the shower cubicle they can confidently vouch being clean, actually cleaner than the one who sat in a tub and recoated themselves with soapy water.
This set me thinking. Re-inventing the wheel and coating ourselves with the same grime of the past does not make us new persons. Redistributing our flaws instead of exorcising them does not make us better persons. Evenly redistributing our emotional issues and making them far spaced does not make them go away. It is the same like taking the grime from our feet and applying it to our hair and marveling at how clean our feet are not knowing the catalyst for dandruff that we have just kick started.
But taking an emotional shower is the deal. All the flaws go down the drain. All the ear wax that we put as a pretense or defense flows away never to reoccur. All the flax from the eyes flows away never to be seen or conjured when we conveniently want to be blind to reality. A shower deals with all sticky aspects, sweeps them away and avails a new and fresh impetus.
Here is my take. If the sun is going to shine brighter for you tomorrow then the emotional tub and basin must go away and in must come the cleansing shower, hence my urge; take a shower !!!
Ahaaaa runny water is needed
Thank you once again for getting our minds at work. Wonderful presentation that gets one deep into self introspection.
Powerful observation and indeed a great lesson
Thank you for reading and your kind comment.
Well crafted
Classic and love the originality.
Thank you Chief. It’s been long. I trust you are well.
Wow… Eye opener…… I really had not thot of it that way…. Shower!!