My older sister used to tell us right after we walked through her door. Even before we have our sit or do anything. "Go and wash your hands with soap." It was not a question. I remember her always saying this, especially after the lockdown and some breakout. Our hands might have touched anything, and we are dusty from the road. That wasn't an excuse; she's interested in
And now, I think of her words differently. I am referring to the instinct behind it and not the hygiene part. The idea that it is always good to clean up something dirty before I can continue with something else.
Because the majority of us just move around with things we have not cleaned. Not only our skin. That conversation we ought to have had, but we keep pushing it forward. The apology we should have made a long time ago, but doing it makes us feel weak. The grudge we have held on to for a very long time now is holding us back because it feels personal.
I was raised to handle visible dirt immediately. Because I had no better explanation of what to do with the invisible kind. Where I come from, our emotions do not get away; they get buried, under prayer requests, busyness, and something like, "I'm trying."
The soap my sister gave me was the easy one. I can tell when it was finished working. No one will remind us to take the other because it might take longer. And it starts in a small way that, for a long time, something in us has been unclean.
Thank you for reading.
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