Shower for the Soul

Shower for the Soul

Jack stepped into the pulsating stream, feeling the sensation upon his body. As he was immersed under the flow of water, his mind began to drift away. He closed his eyes, floating away from the troubles of this day, racing back to the memories in his mind.
The pressures of the day were released. All the tension was falling out of his body as the water rolled off. The water seemed to be cleansing his mind as well as his body. Jack’s thoughts floated about. Streams of consciousness, here and there, drifting back and forth between the past and present.
Images of people in his life now came into his mind. First his wife, then his children, many events of the past 10 years rolled by. Jack could see the birth of each of the boys. He could almost hear the sounds through the delivery, even the groans and agony of his wife as she progressed through the births. These were the sounds he cherished, life’s sounds.
Now his mind fell back even further to the time before his family began, back to before he met his wife. He was now back in his single days. The images of his apartment, the many women he either slept with or wanted to sleep with came rushing back. There was the muscular runner, tight firm muscles squeezing the air out of his lungs. The headstrong, political activist debating everything under the sun. Nothing seemed to satisfy that one. The creative artist, singing each night under the influence of alcohol. Then in the morning taking her aspirins bemoaning the world of the nine to fivers who had come to her show.
The list continued through all the one-nighters and the semi-serious relationships, when at the time the world would stand still. Jack thought about each one, realizing that they had each placed their stamp upon his life. He would never forget them, even though he could not remember their names. Every one of them had a special place in his thoughts.
Next Jack started to contemplate the choices he made and wondered what would have happened if the decisions had been different. His thoughts grew deeper and more profound as the water beat against his shoulders.
The choices that he had made steered him into his current life. He began to think of what might have been. He thought of where his life was now. Not bad, he thought, but something was missing. There was no passion in the things he did outside of his family. He resolved to make this change. He would no longer wait for things to happen or even let things happen to him. He vowed to take charge on new levels and do the things that really mattered to him.
Jack turned off the shower. Stood for a minute and then proceeded to exit the shower, feeling more revived then he had in a long time. As he stepped out of the bathroom after getting dressed, he came across his littlest child. Jack bent down, picked up the little one and hugged him. His heart pounded with joy and excitement. Now he would enter into the next stage of his life with more drive than ever before.
Jack thought to himself, “showers are really good for the soul.” He smiled and went down the stairs and continued on with his life.