Find mindfulness by respecting your hairbrush
In The Beauty of Everyday Things, the Japanese poet and philosopher Soetsu Yanagi notes how the everyday objects we use are like our constant companions, present with us as we go about our days and lives. The bath towel, the tea kettle, the hairbrush, slippers. Our bedding and crockery, our furniture and toiletries. He was a huge advocate of what he called “folk crafts”, mingei, objects made for daily use. They are “common, ordinary things.” They were inexpensive and not exclusive. The more they were used, the more beautiful they became — objects capable of our “intimacy and affection.”
In the bathhouse we find many objects. The experience often begins with a soft robe and slides — putting these on can make us feel like we’ve left our day behind and truly arrived at the baths. We take a towel and maybe a face cloth, we go to the showers, use cleansing soaps, creams to soothe the skin, shampoo and conditioner for our hair. In the sauna there’s a long spoon to add water to the hot rocks, in the resting areas there are porcelain mugs, a pot of tea. We move between areas and rooms in a process both organic and designed, fluid and intentional.
In the hammam, the environment and the objects in it reflect a long history. The hammam is often thought of as a Turkish bathhouse, though the history of the hammam spans the Middle East. According to The Met Museum in New York, ancient depictions of bathhouses in Jordan in the 7th and 8th centuries show hammam visitors ‘ carrying buckets or baskets, which likely contained toiletries, perfumes, combs, and cosmetics for the bath.’ Also ‘necessary to any bathing experience was a good scraper, used to scrub away dead skin loosened by ambient humidity and sweat.’
In the Ottoman Empire, originating in Turkey, the havli (towel) and peştamel (a thin piece of fabric for covering up) featured intricate embroidered patterns. While today we’re familiar with waterproof sandals for walking around the bathhouse, hundreds of years ago bathers would wear platform shoes called nalin. Some of the fancier kinds were even inlaid with mother-of-pearls.The modern bathhouse has its own versions of the objects that have been used by bathers for centuries. They are practical and functional, as well as aesthetic objects that we can enjoy for their beauty or quality. Through these staples - the sandals, the towel and robe, the soaps and scrubs - we find both a thread to the history of bathing and an opportunity for presence.
We often hear calls for buying well and buying less. Cultivating an awareness for our everyday objects, imbuing them with fondness as well as familiarity, heightens our appreciation of the things we use daily and even the spaces we move through. Perhaps the next time you visit the bathhouse, or even make a cup of tea at home, pause and consider those everyday companions. A little exercise in mindfulness, some appreciation for the objects that populate our days.
Words by Katherine Brabon