I am becoming what the poet Sparrow calls a "bath mystic." The bath is a place for shedding things, and not just dead skin cells and dirt. Sparrow explains all of this his essay "Bathifying". It's a journal-like chronicle, with each thought separated off under specific dates - the days he probably took these baths and encountered these concepts in the act. I enjoy it because it's like baths a whole lot - no serious structure or aim to speak of, very free but very thoughtful at the same time. I think baths are conducive for lots of things, except work, stress and fear. Those things do not accompany me into the steamy water.
Right now we live in a one-room one-bathroom apartment, which does posess a shower/bathtub of meager proportion. It's alright for now, and I clean it before I use it each time. But I like to daydream about the bathtub I'll have one day when we get a house. Actually, the bathtubs at the top of my list are ones I'd probably only get to lie in by the time I'm too old to really enjoy them. But, I can dream.
K, so now I know I'm really dreaming here. This is the Dream Suite master bath at Disneyland. The stained glass is obviously exquisite, and I really like bathtubs that are nestled in against walls, at least on one side. That is, unless it's one of these:
Clawfoot tubs are classic and so romantic, and I particularly like the ones that have luxurious curves to their rims. Very nice.
Small light, only candles, but not so dark that it's seancesque. And music. I'm an Enya bather, but not as a rule. I've listened to peppier tunes like The Ditty Bops or Norah Jones. I don't think I like listening to male vocals while in the tub. Not sure exactly why, except that girls singing usually tends to have more of a lighter, airier, bath-ish feeling sound.
Bathification makes me excessively happy.
Bathification is wonderful. I, too, dream of distant days filled with luxurious, claw-footed tubs.
ReplyDeleteAlso, referring back to your last post--how can you ever believe that you aren't good at something? You're such an astounding writer and imaginator.
Baths are the solution to every bad thing ever. No matter how upset I am, the hot water seems to always make me feel better and soothe the worst of pains, both physical and mental.
ReplyDeleteI want to visit a hot spring, just once. It sounds like heaven. I too love this bathification you speak of. Only a few more weeks before I can partake of it once more.
Thanks, Faith. That means a lot to me. Writing things and physical activity are usually the things that help to pull myself out of sadness slumps. Lately I've been having them more often and more continually. But I refuse to go back to antidepressants -- I have to self medicate, which gets increasingly more effective as I learn how depression works.
ReplyDeleteAnne, I definitely agree, hot water relaxes the muscles and the mind. That's why I generally take baths or showers at the end of the day instead of the mornings.
Why a few more weeks?
I had my appendix out almost a month ago and the doc said no baths for six weeks T_T A shower just isn't the same!
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