Soap
"expect sadness like you expect rain. both, cleanse you." — Nayyirah Waheed
The frenetically morbid early days of the COVID-19 pandemic made us hand-washing experts—simultaneously cosplaying as kindergarteners and Grey’s Anatomy doctors ready for the OR.
I’ve used all varieties of detergents to wash my hands: hotel shampoos, children’s bubble bath prototypes, admittedly dish soap in a greasy pinch… if it frothed and stripped, good enough.
As often happens, when a normally side character sort of task is placed center stage, you meditate on the meaning of life.
***
Every (spiritual) culture seems to have a bathing ritual— physical cleansing intertwined with emotional cleanliness. Physical hygiene inseparable from the pursuit of emotional clarity:
-Japanese Onsen
-Islamic Wudu
-Natural hot spring
-Jewish Mikveh
-Christian Baptism
-Finnish Sauna
-Turkish Hammam
-Roman Thermae
-Russian Banya
-Native American Sweat Lodge
(what else?)
***
Every (spiritual) culture seems to have a Great Flood legacy. Antediluvian, Deluge. A supernatural smiting of human hubris, washing away our dirty sins to begin anew. But it’s not a completely clean slate, the paradigm-shifting memory peeks beyond the spotless mind. The scars are etched into oration and stone, a fading warning that inevitably will again not be heeded.
-Epic of Gilgamesh
-Noah’s Ark
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***
Take care not to take cleansing too far. Wash your hands too much and they’ll crack and bleed. Over-sanitizing leads to superbugs. Brainwashing is suppression. And the most existentially-threatening of all, to appoint oneself judge of what constitutes a clean populace leads to segregation, circumcision, sterilization, genocide.
🎶 Piece of the Day 🎶
I made a soap charm souvenir inspired by the Covid-19 Pandemic (2019-Present?). More timeless than masks, toilet paper, and Purell, more hopeful. Less kitschy and depressing. Soap is forever.
Thanks for reading!
All the best,
Kristy
Originally started writing this post March 7th, 2022