by J. R. Practix

Ablution: n. the act of washing oneself, often used for humorously formal effect.

I just realized that this is a society FILLED with ablution. I think if I shared that in public, I would be greeted with great bewilderment, since most people don’t know what ablution means. But we are either constantly talking about cleansing ourselves to avoid disease and exposure to death and destruction OR we are finding ourselves with our hand in the cookie jar, wanting to deny any responsibility.

I’ve been working on this.

The other day I was eating some delicious shrimp when one of them fell to the floor. I quickly picked it up off the dirty carpet and consumed it. Moments later, a green bean from my plate also fell, tumbling to the same carpet … and I picked it up and cast it into the trash can, fearing that it was dirty.

I realized that I have selective cleanliness.

Also in that same day, I discovered I had made a severe error in calculation. I found myself running a catalogue in my mind of potential causes for this mistake. I came up with a bounty of fruitful ideas to escape my personal responsibility. I realized how easy it was to temporarily grant oneself absolution without ever being guiltless.

You see, here’s the problem–the shrimp was just as dirty as the green bean, or else neither one was dirty. And telling a lie about my own foibles only temporarily delays the embarrassment when others discover them and relish the exposure.

It’s tricky business. Sometimes it doesn’t make any difference. For instance, my tainted shrimp did not kill me. But sometimes you wash your hands of a situation to make yourself free of blame …  and you end up crucifying your best chance for hope.