Tonight… I took a Bath

by Musings

My thoughts this holiday weekend were swirling with the need to relax. To unwind. To find a way to be less stressed, all in the course of a three-day weekend. As I was making mental lists of all the things that needed to be done, I was also listing out ways that I could consciously take a break from the hustle and bustle of life.

So… I took a bath.

I dumped an entire carton of bath salts into the hot water, lit a few candles, and got in. I sat there a few minutes with calming music playing, swishing my fingers in the water to make little waves and ripples.

And I hated it.

Not just a general dislike. No, I really, really could not stand to be there. The candles made the air thick and everything reeked of vanilla. The water was waist deep and tepid after just a few minutes.

With my wildly unsuccessful bath, I realized that I am not going to relax like everyone else. It’s a cliche and I didn’t enjoy it at all. Friends of mine are all glorifying the idea of the simple life and finding magic in ordinary moments. I get it — I just don’t want to embrace the simplicity. Because as much as a warm bath is a comfort, there is a wild and surging energy when I accomplish something. I’m addicted to the thrill. I want to grab life with both hands and become a someone. You know that person — the person who has seized their goals and grasped at them and held them tight for a brilliant flash of beautiful success. Those are the people who have seen all that life offers and have truly lived.

I don’t know if I’ll take another bath anytime soon, but I am already looking for that next thing, that piece of life that is worth the effort and the work, and the blood, and the sweat, and the tears. I am looking for a little thing in life to capture and call my own.

And the only way to find that is to get to work.

Amy Humphries Image from Unsplash

Image by Amy Humphries