Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Wash, Rinse, Repeat


I can’t read the shampoo bottle anymore because I don’t shower with my reading glasses on. That is unless I forget that they are on top of my head when I get in the shower - but I digress.  If I recall correctly, the directions on the shampoo bottle used to say: wash, rinse, repeat. 

When I was in the shower this morning washing, rinsing and repeating it occurred to me that life is like a shampoo bottle.  Stay with me here - I am going somewhere with this, I’m just not sure how long it will take before I get there. 


Think about it for a minute; Don’t we all travel through life doing some of the same things over and over again while expecting different results?  For example, I continually nag my husband about little things that aggravate me to no end (the list is endless).  I nag, he doesn’t stop and I nag again.  He doesn't stop again!  Wash, rinse, repeat.

I tell my daughter to clean her room.  She cleans her room halfheartedly and I tell her to clean her room again.  She cleans her room halfheartedly again.  Wash rinse, repeat.

When I’m driving in the car I have a tendency to yell and scream at the slow driver in front of me.  No matter how much I yell and scream, the slow driver continues to go slow or slower.  I yell some more and they slow down even more.  Wash rinse, repeat.

I ran out of shampoo this morning just as I was about to repeat.  I don’t usually wax philosophical in the shower, but running out of shampoo made me think about the fact that I really didn’t need to repeat.  Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be really nice if I could stop washing, rinsing and repeating in life? 

How great would it be to stop nagging my husband?  What would he do?  How would he react if he slurped his cereal and I didn’t say a word?   I’ll have to try that.  I wonder what my daughter would do if she came home to find all the clothes she leaves on the floor missing from her room.  No arguing.  No comment.  Just missing clothes. 

What if I stopped yelling at the slow drivers?  Would my blood pressure go down?  Would my day be calmer?  I wonder? 

Just for the heck of it, I got my reading glasses out and read the directions on the shampoo bottle.  This is what it says now: Massage through wet hair and rinse well.  Follow with conditioner.  When did the directions change???

Here I’ve been washing, rinsing and repeating my whole life when I could have been massaging and conditioning!  The conditioner bottle says: Enjoy the revitalizing scent of clean ocean air as gentle conditioners bring out the natural beauty of your hair. 

Okay, so I’m going to use the directions on the shampoo/conditioner bottle to come up with my new directions for life: Revitalize and reinvigorate your life by not washing, rinsing and repeating.  Instead, gently condition your soul which will bring out your natural beauty.

3 comments:

  1. LOL!! Reminds me of a certain Tuesday night! I LOVE your new directions for life!! btw - I got in the shower once with my glasses ON!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great food for thought Betty!....I need my reading glasses for that AND the scriptures, which also give me direction :-)

    ReplyDelete