Many times throughout the day I find snippets of advice that encourages me to find little things in life that should make me grateful. While getting out the door early this morning, I found such an object; the master bathroom shower.

Think about it. So much of who we are is defined in that 7 X 3 foot space. When you arise groggy and out of sorts, it’s the warm water that wakes you up. When someone flushes the toilet while you’re using it, it substantiates that despite advanced age, you can still gyrate like a lead actor from the movie Flash Dance.

When you are hot and coming in from mowing the lawn and you have more grass clippings and sweat on you than a dachshund, you’ll always find refreshment in the soothing waters of the shower.

I remember once hesitantly climbing under my house in order to fix a leaking sewer pipe. That little square of heaven, the shower, made me feel human again after the job was done.

We don’t give this little space the credit it’s due as an inspirational venue. It is here that great ideas are first formulated. As the cobwebs of our brain are cast aside in the morning, it is under this cascading flow of water drops that we sing without shame as if we’re competing for the last slot on American Idol.

The shower stall also awakens inside us, epiphanies about ourselves we would nary dwell upon. I was taking my ceremonial cleansing the other morning and I glanced upon my shampoo bottle. I purchased this (it seems) about a year ago, but the pesky thing is still three-quarters full. How is it that the items we dislike the most stick around forever, but the good stuff is gone in a flash?

I thought I got a deal on this shampoo knock-off at the dollar store. In fact according to my hair, that’s “dead” wrong. Personally after using it for months it seems more suitable for cleaning hedgehogs. It leaves my hair dull, my hair sticks out and doesn’t lay properly, and no matter how much I use, it fails to lather. At the present rate, I don’t think this bottle will ever run out. I’m using it now as body wash just so I can buy a new bottle of shampoo.

The reason I bring this up is because it dawned on me in the shower. I’m cheaper than I am proud. It doesn’t matter that my hair leaves me looking like a static electricity experiment, I won’t throw that bottle away for nothing!

The only positive thing about my shampoo is it doesn’t make me lose hair. This bottle with all the texture of wallpaper paste, holds my strands together like a magnet to a box of screws. And therein lies the premise of my assertion. The shower is a place of peace, a place of repose, a place of joy and thought.

I have an additional suggestion for the shower. The next time you have a disagreement with your spouse, have the argument in the shower. I dare you to stay angry when you’re laughing hysterically at each others singing abilities or…well you get the picture. My wife of course has more reason to laugh hysterically.