Some of my most significant thoughts and ideas take form in the shower. Every time I shower, I find it to be quite the introspective experience. I’ve come up with sermons, daily schedules, conflict resolution schemes, songs, poems, and regularly pray, all within that 10-15 minute period.
I thought about this phenomenon today, while showering of course, and wondered why it happens. And I’ve heard more than one person say they’ve shared this experience. I think there are few reasons why the shower is such a perfect conductor for mental action. One that comes to mind is that there are three things I need in order to come up with a good thought and sustain it, or to gain clarity on a particular situation: peace, comfort, and time. And by god gates, the shower provides all three like a crisp hat-trick, Beijing-Dubai-New York City, Whataburger’s Triple with Triple Cheese, and might even come close to the blessed Trinity itself.
Time~ It can be a powerful thing to know you have a set amount of time allotted for a specific task. Isn’t it helpful when someone who is waiting for you tells you exactly how much time you have?? We can become very focused and efficient in our processes. And that’s why a shower, only a few minutes long, provides the perfect opportunity to think and reflect. People rarely, if ever (for us single folk), barge in demanding something. Aaaahh, the beauty of unadulterated time at my disposal.
Comfort~ What is more soothing than privacy, warmth, the gentle yet forceful shiatsu-like patting of the water, and steam induced sinus relief? Nothing…
Peace~ Even if you’ve gone bankrupt, if a relationship is struggling, or the weather is nasty, the shower remains unchanged, unscathed by Ares’s spear. There are few things in life which provide such emotional stability.
And so with that, I invite you to join me in the shower! Of course not while I’m in it. But I encourage us to leverage on this great gift all of us Americans enjoy daily, or even twice so. Because thoughts through spray are the best.
The shower is a great place to do all that! I love crying in the shower, (okay and no, I don’t go into the shower just to intentionally cry my eyes out hah) and yes it does act like a great massager. It is actually nice to stand in there and think about the day, what you have to do, reflect on anything else, all while getting clean! How neat
I, too, enjoy pondering in the shower. The world seems simpler and easier to wrap my mind around in the steamy confines of my luxurious stand-up shower. Something in the smell of cheap shampoo really gets my mind churning, too. Love.
@Christina- Thanks for being so vulnerable
Crying in the shower is a beautiful thing.. “All while getting clean” haha nice
@Caleb- U should reward urself with some Paul Mitchell or something a bit more pricey.. unless it would hinder your ability to think of course..
unrelated specifically to this post, but i LOVED your last one. I wouldn’t normally post on your blog, but i thought you’d like to know that when they asked me paper or plastic today i immediately thought of you and bought the “green” reuseable bag to use instead from now on.
one starfish at a time!
)
Josh! I can’t believe I’ve never read your blog before! Nice…really nice! You should check out mine too missynagel.wordpress.com…
Merry Christmas…