Toilets

The toilets in my dorm are very loud.  They are these high pressure toilets that I would think you would normally find in sports arenas.  When you flush, it sounds like a jet taking off. 

I always kick the handle with my foot to make it flush.  Like I'm pushing the ignition button for lift-off or stepping on the jet accelerator.  Not that you needed to know that but now you do. Let that image sink in.

Late at night. When most of my roommates are in bed and my roommate isn't snoring loudly you can hear the jet engine toilets taking off in other rooms.

This noise comforts me.

Why? Because it means other people are using the toilets too, which means they use it just like I use it, which I am just like everyone else.  It means were equals and that is comforting to me. It's not about seniority or "one-upping" one another(I walked on the moon) but rather equality. That the two of us are both equal, made in Gods image, and that we both have to go through this ridiculous awkward process of going to the bathroom.

When I hear that jet toilet take off I close my eyes, get a little smirk on my face, and sigh deeply thinking about toilets and how we all use them.

A friend of mine was convinced that woman never go to the bathroom because they are just too perfect to be involved in such a process.  I think he was joking but I enjoyed believing in it for awhile.

It taught me how to love.

This is going to sound weird, probably because it is but I want you to imagine someone you know. Naturally, you will think of someone you like, at least hopefully you do.  Now imagine them walking into the bathroom, going to the bathroom, flushing the toilet, washing their hands(always), then walking out of the bathroom.

Creeped out? Disturbed on a whole new level?  Do you still like this person?

Hopefully you do.  Now take it a little deeper.  Now imagine the girl/guy you have had your eye on for awhile.  Now lets say they come out and it is stinky.

Is this going too far? Do you still like this person?

You should, because you have probably done the same at some point in your life and people still like you so it would be rude not to so the same.

The point is, if you can imagine someone, in my opinion, in this awkward process, in a low point of human civilization, it is very easy to pour out love to them.  It seems awkward and creepy and it's not a mental exercise I encourage to repeat on a daily basis but it can help. I mean, how can you not love someone who does the same exact thing as you? Isn't that a common interest throughout all of creation?

This is what I think about when I hear toilets flushing at night.