Podcasting is a pretty intimate medium. When I meet listeners, one of things they often tell me is that you feel connected to me through hearing my voice. And I get it, there’s something really powerful about having someone talk into your ear. And, of course, the stuff we talk about on Soulful Jewish Living is often very personally meaningful. The practices we share here are ones that can really get into some pretty intimate places in your mind and heart—emotions, sensations, deep inner thoughts. I think that’s part of the appeal for you and so many other listeners—we don’t just stay on the surface, but we really get into some deep parts of our lives.
But while we always aim to keep it appropriate–this is a family show, after all–I want to prepare you for today’s episode, because we’re going to cross a new boundary of intimacy here. We’re going to talk about the miracle that is… the experience of going to the bathroom. Peeing. Pooping. Going tinkle. Taking a dump. Let’s just get all the giggles out of the way now, because we’re gonna go there.
“Josh, why are you talking about this?” I hear you asking? Thanks for asking. The reason is that this is the second episode in a miniseries on daily rituals. Last week we talked about bringing Jewish mindfulness to the experience of waking up in the morning. And you know what most of us do right after we wake up? Go to the bathroom. So welcome to episode number 2.
I love my job. But if I could have any job in the world besides the one I have, I think I would be a plumber. Why? Because I am totally fascinated with flow. When I was growing up in Michigan in the fall, the leaves would fill up the storm drains. When it would rain, the water would back up and make a giant puddle in the street as I was walking home from school. And I would have the best time getting a long stick to unclog the storm drain and then just watch as the water flowed in. Like I said, I love flow.
I still love to unclog drains. I love shoveling snow in the winter. Heck, I even like directing traffic. I love when a football team or an orchestra or an assembly line or an organization is visibly, beautifully in sync. I love those montage shots in sports movies when the team is on a win streak, and everything is just flowing. Flow, flow, flow. It brings me a lot of joy.
Now, we talk about flow states a lot when it comes to mindfulness. We talk about unclogging resistance in our minds and hearts. But if we can get real for a minute, the most common experience of flow or lack thereof in our lives happens in our bodies: flow of blood, flow of air, and the flow that happens when we go to the bathroom. If any of these systems doesn’t work—if our blood doesn’t flow properly, if the air doesn’t move properly, if we can’t pee or poop properly—it’s… not good. It can even be deadly. And so it really is a kind of miracle every time our human plumbing is working right. It’s an opportunity to be mindful, aware, and grateful.
So this week, I want to offer two practices. There’s actually an ancient Jewish blessing to say after making a number 1 or 2, and we’ll get to that in a minute. But first, I want to invite you to actually be present for the act of going to the bathroom itself. Chances are you’re listening to this on your own, so we can take a little anonymous poll here: Raise your hand if you take your phone with you into the bathroom. Raise your hand if you use your phone while you’re using the toilet. And, I don’t really want to ask this but I feel like I have to: raise your hand if you’re going to the bathroom right now. No judgment. Cool. Whatever works, I guess.
But to get serious, my invitation, and maybe a little bit of a challenge for this week, is to try leaving the phone out of the bathroom, at least once a day. Try to actually be present with the experience. Allow yourself to feel the way your body works. Be aware of the stuff that’s moving through you. This is just as much a part of life as anything else. It’s part of your body. It’s something we all do—as the title of the children’s book reminds us: Everyone Poops (and pees). So don’t ignore it, don’t distract yourself. Be aware of it. Be mindful of it. Be present with it.
And: Be grateful for it. That’s actually a really Jewish thing to do! Last week we talked about the fact that the very first word a Jew is supposed to say in the morning is “thank you,” it turns out that Jewish tradition is chock full of opportunities to be mindful and grateful.
So, yes, there really is a traditional Jewish blessing to say after going to the bathroom. The whole text is a little long. It thanks God for creating us with wisdom and making us full of our physical openings. It acknowledges that if any one of those openings were broken or blocked, we wouldn’t last long—and thus we wouldn’t be able to stand in the presence of the Divine at all.
The way to say the blessing, traditionally, is after you wash your hands and you’ve left the bathroom proper. (We can acknowledge that, while pooping is awesome, poop itself is still gross.) Take a moment and just feel your body on the other side of this experience. Notice if there’s some relief you feel. Notice if there’s some sensation of flow. And notice if that awareness brings about some feelings of gratitude—that your body is healthy enough to be working in this way right now.
The blessing concludes with these words, which you may want to say with all of this in mind: Baruch atah adonai, rofei kol basar umafli la’asot: “Blessed are you, Source of Being, who heals all flesh and performs wonders.”
A lot of the practices we’ll be exploring in this miniseries on daily rituals are ones that take place in our bodies. In fact, they all are—because our lives are lived in our bodies. We want things in our lives to flow smoothly, and that happens when things in our bodies are flowing smoothly first.
Blessings for the journey. Know that I’m on it with you.