Laura

Shower Thoughts

So.

I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time.

About literal (and metaphorical) shower thoughts.

It just comes streaming out sometimes 🚿 🫧

Do you ever hop in the shower, ready to wash your day away, only to have the thoughts come flooding in?

Finally…we are starting to relax, to release all the energy of the day – only to have it come rushing back in.

Kind of like dreaming, in a way. Once you clear the clutter and start making the space, everything comes through.

Meditative almost, I suppose.

Bath thoughts? 🛁

Even while driving, this happens. You get into that sort of auto-pilot, zen state and the thoughts come raging in.

What are your shower thoughts? (whatever you don’t mind sharing, of course, because I would love to know).

And honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with this phenomenon.

Why?

Drive thoughts? 💭 🚘

Because I can write out an entire blog post or poem, in my head, while driving or in the shower, only to have it fade away completely the moment I step out of the shower or put my car in “park.”

Like thin air.

*Poof!*

This probably happens…because I’ve got stuff to do and sometimes real life takes a backseat to creative endeavors, unfortunately.

Recreational activities are awesome, great even, a way for us to purge and to emote in ways we might not otherwise.

But it’s stifled sometimes by everyday living.

LOL 😆 OK, kitty…we know it’s Caturday

So frustrating in lots of ways.

It’s like when you start getting on that writing rampage, please don’t interrupt, because then the flow has ceased and things don’t come out the way they should.

Perhaps I should invest in a waterproof notepad, like one very important person in my life suggested not too long ago.

I’m sure I’m not the only one this happens to, of course. I’d love to hear your solutions, as they are probably much simpler than I realize and I’m over complicating things in my life, as usual. 😊

As always, thank you for reading the crazy musings of my mind. You are appreciated.

I suppose this could be different for the folks who use showering as a means to wake up. For me, it has always been a bedtime ritual.

Let me know your thoughts, literally! 😆

139 comments

  1. This happens to me in the tub all the time I always take baths.

    With a bath bomb and maybe a couple edibles consumed I have the exact same experience every time I take a bath that you described in your shower.

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  3. One of my best bosses was originally from Goa, and he told me a story about when he first arrived in the States with one of his very first jobs. He was newly arrived and working in Texas, and some coworkers invited him to attend a shower. He was a bit shocked, a bit intrigued, on exactly what a ‘shower party’ might entail. But he felt up to the adventures his newly adopted culture might present. But asking around about what to wear to an American Shower party, his highest expectations were soon dashed. Still, he attended the ‘Baby Shower’ and enjoyed himself despite his somewhat deflated expectations.

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  4. Can so relate, it’s like the brain has been given a jolt of creative power and you have a very short span to get it written, voice recorded and how ever you can get it saved. I haven’t come up with a solution yet, by the time I get out of bed and reach for pen and paper it has gone to somewhere else. Sorry, didn’t mean to ramble on. LOL

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    • Haha thank you, and not rambling at all! Glad to know there’s others out there struggling the same lol 😂 and yes it feels like, a mad rush to get this down before it floats away, forever and ever, to who knows where? Lol
      I haven’t used a tape recorder, I suppose I should look into doing that at some point. Even the writing can be a jumbled mess at times and it’s like, “uhhh, what was it again?” lol thanks for sharing 😊

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  6. This occur to almost all the thinkers. I took a shower and hour ago and I was like swimming in the realm of magic full of words jot down. So what I did do? I left the shower immediately got my mobile phone and type everything I was imagining in that realm, sited for a few minutes before I continued taking my shower. It’s a kinda weird feeling for me. Although I always find myself with a pen and paper ready to write something. But tonight was a bit different and it was funny 😂.

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  9. I’m usually too busy thinking about what I have to do for the day to have any other thoughts in my head, so it’s rare when creative ideas come to me in that fashion. I don’t even notice them when driving or falling asleep like a lot of people do either. I think my mind just works the opposite of everyone else’s or something.

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    • So when you relax, ideas don’t flow through your head a million miles an hour?

      I guess because mine is more of an “end of day” thing usually, that’s why they come but then I see you also mentioned even upon getting ready for sleep it doesn’t happen either.

      We know you’re getting it from somewhere, Kevin! Lol 🤪 come on, what’s the magic secret? 😆

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      • I don’t know really. I don’t think out 90 – 95 % of what I post. A vague idea might hit me, so I just open a page and type. If I attempt to plan it out beyond that, it’s likely never seen the light of day and ended up trashed.
        I think I just operate on some weird wavelength where I don’t remember dreams, don’t get creative ideas like most people do, and see writing as a bit of a time waster.
        I have a very weird love/hate relationship with creative endeavors.

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      • I can probably relate to this more than you think. The part about the creative endeavors at least. After school, I didn’t touch anything “creative” for years. All my coworkers would tell me how good my writing was, blah blah. It was the woman I mentor with who told me to start writing, in whatever fashion I could.

        I don’t think I had written a poem in years I think until I started doing your NTT.

        And it’s weird too, because your writing and your creations touch so many people.

        But I get it, I do.
        And like you as well, I know I’m not getting famous off WP for my “creative endeavors” lol. Gotta keep that day job! 😆

        The thoughts though – those don’t stop for me. 900 million miles an hour.

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      • I have a very adversarial relationship with writing. I wouldn’t even attempt to explain it. I can see the day coming where I would like to part ways with it. One day I will tire of it completely, just stop and never look back again.

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      • I get it. Still you do an outstanding job👍

        My understanding of writing is this (speaking of personal experience): if you’re really good at fabricating original pieces, which reveal deep sources of your pain, tearing at your soul, even to the point that you’re sometimes completely heartbroken, then you’ve done an extraordinary job.

        It’s literally impossible to love writing, after having had such an experience. I mistrust somebody who claims to love writing above all.

        Either you never had a bad experience in your life or you never wrote about it in a real way.

        Writing is hurting, big time. I wish more people would understand this elemental truth.

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      • Indeed it can be painful in several ways. Either through our experiences, the frustration of a creative block, or the lack of satisfaction with the finished product. There’s also the constant fight with boredom over it. So many factors.
        We continue to do it even when a part of us really doesn’t want to.

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      • Profound words, this. Hard to write from pain, but necessary to heal. Which comes through in writing. And so many things I’ve written, and never posted. May never. Too hard. Too much. We’ll see. Maybe one day. But yes, absolutely true.

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      • As time goes on I find myself feeling less drawn to it. It’s starting to feel like more effort than it’s worth to me. I actually dread logging in and attempting to write/post some days.

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      • Speaking somewhat realistically though, forcing the issue rarely yields anything worthwhile. I’m not one of those types who can sit down and press through just because.

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  10. This happens to me a lot, but not in the shower or while driving ( I actually don’t drive, but ride a motorbike, so autopilot is not an option 🙂 )

    This sort of things happens to me in the space between dreaming and waking up. I have dreamt about most beautiful equations and theories, and it is the MOST frustrating feeling when it disappears. The memory of how it felt stays, but the memory of the detail gets so jumbled that it makes no sense.

    I have tried repeating what I see several times just so I remember it when I wake up. Alas, it doesn’t work. The beautiful math equation remains just a memory without a shape.

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    • Oh, I love this, they talk about this being a power position all the time, just as you’re waking up and just as you’re going to sleep. I’ve been there. Everything feels absolutely amazing, so surreal and you SWEAR you’ll remember it, but then you don’t. Of course this happens with dreams all the time too.
      I wrote something down one night recently after waking up and kinda in that state and it was all complete jumbles. It felt like it didn’t even belong to me, such a weird feeling.

      Thanks for sharing! 😊 you’re definitely not alone in that one.

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  11. Sometimes I forget if I washed my hair seconds after I’ve washed my hair. Then I spend several minutes looking for clues to see if I can figure out if I washed my hair. Then I usually just wash my hair again anyway to be safe. 😂

    If I have a *really* good shower thought, I’ll say it out loud and repeat it as long as it takes me to get somewhere to write it down!

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  12. A shower does stir creative thoughts – a great space for singing, too. 🎶 The water element is wonderfully renewing. As for remembering/writing thoughts – I have found that the ideas that are supposed to become more, stay with me. I do keep notebooks around. 📔 Cheap composition books are the best and a little water on them just adds character. 🖋️😊

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    • Ahh yes, I found you! Sorry about that, Michele! I need to become better about checking the spam more regularly! lol 😂 appreciate your insightful thoughts as always. I think perhaps I’ll have to keep a notebook in the bathroom or something. I connect well with the water element, and as you said, it’s absolutely so renewing.
      Very true on the thoughts that are supposed to be there, staying there. Love this! 🩷 Thank you 🙏

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      • Thanks for the kind words. I do lots of thinking in the shower for sure. Also while I sleep. I guess the thing I would say is, I’m not a jotter most of the time, or a believer that I’ll lose a good idea when it comes to me out of the blue. I believe the brain is an amazing thing, and will hold all sorts of information, and continue to work on it even subconsciously. So when I have a good idea I trust myself to remember it when the time is right, and maybe even get better as it sits and percolates. I’m saying you don’t need that wet notebook. All you need is your amazing mind. Trust it. It won’t let you down.

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      • Thank you for that, Ted.
        I’ve forgotten a lot of memories, but they were things I wanted to forget. So I guess when something starts to slip away, it’s the fixer in me looking for a solution, immediately. You are right though, and your words are very wise. Even my medium says, “if it never leaves your mind, it is a calling,” and it’s true. We should rely on our brains more, rather than all the other things to do it for us.

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  14. For me, the shower is just to wash away troubles if needed. But it’s never been where something creative or anything else pops to mind. Which I don’t mind as I rather not.

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  17. I shower in the morning, but also often in the evening due to workouts. I tend to listen to either music or have a Youtube video playing in the background during these — a persistent need to absorb, I guess. Oddly, my best poetry happens when I am driving, which is most inconvenient, but probably not as much as during a shower.

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    • I get it, I wrote something on absorbing recently too. Interesting. So, if your best poetry happens when you’re driving (this happened to me the other day, and once I got home, completely forgotten) what do you do? Do you record yourself or are you able to remember it once you cease driving?

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  18. My ideas turn up while sleeping/dreaming, driving, walking. Not all of them are viable though. There’s too much going on in my head. Some people complain about the lack of creative ideas, I have too much.

    Yeah, the shower, nothing creative ever happened in the shower I’m afraid to report.

    Maybe if you had a water proof recording device in your shower, better than a notepad.

    Have a wonderful day 🙏

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  19. I only take ice-cold showers…so pretty much only think about washing and getting out as soon as reasonable🥶!…😄. I know what you mean though Laura, it is in those relaxed states where our creative side can be very active. I find when I go for long walks on my own a good time to converse with my creative brain, and have lots of ideas. Great post and hope you are keeping all well😊…Jay

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    • Thanks for sharing, Jay! 🙏 I actually love cold showers, it’s been a minute. Yes, the relaxation state seems to allow for the flow. I’ve also had them come through in exercise and long walks as well, so do you remember your ideas if they aren’t able to be written down? I think that’s what I struggle with the most. Is once I’m done with whatever it is (shower, driving) I completely forget lol 😆

      And I hope you’re well too, Jay! How’s the weather there? Did you and your son ever go on any of those hikes? 😊

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      • You are welcome Laura😊. Yes that’s the problem isn’t it, I tend to write them down on scraps of paper as soon as I can, then in the pocket it goes! I used to use a dictaphone many years ago…maybe a good idea again.

        Weather is warm here at the moment😎. Been on a several tough day hikes, but not Hadrian’s wall yet. My Son is sitting the Oxford/Cambridge entrance exams this Sept/Oct time now, so he is grinding like mad. I don’t want to disturb his mojo, as only doing it the once, so might have to wait until he is done with that.☕

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  21. Missed this post in the shuffle yesterday. Weird! It’s been a long time, mostly because traffic is yuk and my car doesn’t resist heat well, but I used to take long drives for the express purpose of getting into this mode.

    Walking does this too, and sometimes showers, but maybe I’ve filled my showers with so many things to do and smell that I’m not thinking as much, haha. Did you ever take a look at Elizabeth Gilberts TED talk on illusive genius? James Clear has the whole transcript on his site. It’s REALLY worth listening to or reading on this topic: https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches/your-elusive-creative-genius-by-elizabeth-gilbert

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  25. It happens to me all the time too. Usually I call them my dog walking thoughts:-) I usually end up saying them out loud to myself and then I retain at least a third of it 🙂

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  27. Nice one boss very relatable. This happens to me most times mostly when I’m about to go to bed or I’m in the bath, especially when I’m stressed out or going through some kind of emotion. It gets annoying sometimes so I just jump out of bed immediately or out off the shower to write down at least bullet points to when I’m ready to write I would have things to write on. Hope this method helps someone 🙏🫂

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  31. Okay, this is an interesting post Laura💯✨. Well, I really don’t think showering for me🚿🛀 is a bedtime ritual, I just do it because I have to bath. I believe we men don’t really think too much about showering, we just shower and we don’t really have a cat in the shower, that is weird😂😂.

    In fact, here is a joke: Men who bath or shower will always get the ladies instead of the one that smells bad. Haha😂😂

    If I may ask, would you Laura go out with me😍? Just kidding

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  32. Oh hell yeah I rethink all the controversial thinks or opinions etc while in shower . Some things I recently thought I posted in my blog could you pls read n review I would be really glad 😊

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  33. Laura, Your phone probably has a voice recorder on it if not you can just use the video option – especially when you are in your car. Record some of those thoughts! You don’t need to use the video and after you write your blog erase the recording… unless it is a good one you never know what inspiration will inspire. 😉 And if you really don’t want your phone all watery from shower usage invest in a little recorder. It would be worth it I want to hear more of this inspired raging brilliance.

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    • Thank you so much for your beautiful and insightful comment 🙏 it really does mean so much. I need to set the intention to remember to do that, but you know the thought just come a mile a minute sometimes and it sets you out into another mind frame where you can almost forget as soon as the thoughts come. I definitely will look into a tape recorder! And thank you 😊 you are far too kind 🙏 want to hear/read more of your beautiful thoughts too

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  34. I don’t have a shower rituals, like taking them every morning or night. I take them for different reasons. If I need to wake up I take a morning shower, if I had an exhausting day at work I take an afternoon shower, if I want to relax before bed I take a night shower.
    But yes, I’m thinking about a lot every time I’m there. When I want to remember some of my thoughts I type some bullet points on my phone and come back to it when I need to.
    Usually my thoughts are about planning. I plan the day ahead when I take a shower in the morning, or I plan “the tomorrow” when I take a shower later in a day.

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