SOAPing

Bathing, a cleansing ritual, right?  Huh?
Yes, sometimes we remember underneath the warm layers covering us, the warm early memories of bath. In the corner of the tub, teetering on its slippery surface, the plastic Johnson's Baby Shampoo with it's No More Tears formula projecting the full flavor of fun in bathing.  A ritual that could turn dangerous if it's intentions were not pure and clear.
Rituals are like that.   We can do the same activity over and over again on modus indifference or modus gratitude ala observance.

As a child the towel lay close by with the toys of the day being tossed about under and over the surface of warm tender kissed soap.  Some soap in form of bubbles, other forms creating pictures on the surface, like chalk on the sidewalk with a wind morphing them into other shapes.   Monsters appeared in the soap, a hiding place for a duck or a opening to slap the sillyness out of my body onto mom or whatever surface was still dry.

No tears with a bath. Only anticipation of creative warmth, renewal and wrapping up the day to nesting of dreams and fresh linens.  Okay, sometimes we got the towel of our wet sibling, but no fights over that!

As time evolved and my life with it, showers soaped me down with antibacterial soap and non existent bubbles. Gel soap made things even faster. No need to rub my hands together to produce the bubbles that would remove my scum.  Hospital hygiene and efficiency lead the way. No time to linger, just get the move on. The day was dawning not waning.  Change the course.

Sometimes the end of the day lead me back to the water in a reclining pose, only after all chores were done and mental lists for the next day piled so high I could not see over it.
Water droned my mind in steady form as I awaited a full tub before slipping in.  Fragrance forgone, except for an occassional candle of luxury. Candles now a luxury? Where had I been?  Draining away the day was now the motto.  Cursing it down the drain not wanting the same course to have its way with me.
         Notes of Fragrance.  Notes of Remembrance.  Notes of Cleansing.
        Within the medical profession there are notes called SOAP notes.

In my early years of being a physical therapist SOAP notes were the daily grind of reporting on the progress of the patient and the overview of treatment.  SOAP notes were written by hand and today our health care providers scurry to record without dictation or a single breath.The patient, the assessment was complete in an instant.
( Concise clinical contents of computers complete and colorless.)

SOAP notes stand for:

Subjective
Objective
Assessment
Planning

This is the clinical and medicinal way of viewing life. We do it ritually. Where is the joy?

SOAPing in younger years was a pleasure.  It was a ritual.  It was renewing. It was something we looked forward to , remembering its warmth its connection, its comfort, its timeless nature.

I have decided to make an addedum to my present day SOAP notes.  Keeping the SOAP notes in place but adding a few more nuanaces to its package labeled S O A P. Remembering ritual has its place in the daily routine, not simply for routine but for healing, happiness and joy.

SOAP Notes Addedum to label : All ingredients 100% pure, No tears formula

Seize Opportunites Allow Peace
Spread Optimism Around Pessimism
Spark Overtures Above Perceptions
Send Ovations Align Progress
Seek Others Anoint Prosperity
See Over Anothers' Projections

SOAPing, Lathering and Rinsing what lingers, washing and weighting things and ideas that are unnecessary for revival and change.

PRECAUTION FOR USAGE
STAY OPEN, ADVENTURES PREVAIL
P.S. Especially while bathing