To have and to hold

After a busy week, I finally had time to properly wash my hair, exfoliate, and shave. It was time to take care of the things that I either skipped or did in a hurry during my daily rinse-and-repeat sessions. 

I love this time. I love the ritual of mindfully massaging my scalp, carefully working with the razor, and giving every inch of my skin TLC from soap to post-shower moisturizing, not to mention the hair product and drying routine. This devotional-like time is a physical manifestation of self-love, and I have learned to savor it. 

As I welcomed the sensation of water pouring over my head and running down my body, the thought came through that "it feels so good to take care of my vessel." I've been on a mission to learn more about what my body needs, from the foods I eat to the rest and exercise that works best for me. I want to take care of my body. I'm learning to love my vessel inside and out and revere all the senses; an indulgent shower session and proceeding adorning are simple ways to honor the one vessel we get in this lifetime.

Viewing my body as more than a body and a vessel for something more started around four years ago. I was at the North Carolina Museum of Art with my family when I saw this graphic likening parts of an amphora vessel to parts of the human body (of course, I took a picture of it!):

The vessel shown in the example perfectly represents how our human bodies are similar to the functional and decorative object we all know as a vessel. 

The Body section they list as the "container" really spoke to me.

The " container " in our human bodies is where our heart, lungs, digestive, and reproductive systems are. It's where we contain the bulk of what supports us physically ... what gives us life. 

I believe that metaphysically, our entire body — from the top to the bottom — is the container for our soul. 

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Our human vessels may look different from the hand-crafted vessel pictured above, but they both serve a functional purpose: to receive, carry, and hold. 

My shower experience felt like a form of receiving so I could carry myself better afterward and hold all that I'm meant to hold with more ease and purpose. 

There's also a decorative purpose: to express. I adorn myself through hair styling, makeup, clothing, and accessories because it feels expressive, joyful, and satisfying. People who decorate ceramic vessels do something similar. We adorn objects and ourselves because we can, because it brings us joy.

More and more, I'm seeing the human vessel as a privilege and a joy to experience even as it cracks, chips, and shows wear and tear with age, just like its ceramic counterparts in museums and homes around the world. Both types of vessels come in different shapes and sizes, are more similar than not, and are worth revering.

It's a gift to get to create these objects and be something similar. 

Here are a few recent amphora style finds by Ecellet who uses a material called 'cardcrete'. Cardcrete is developed using cardboard waste.