Yesterday morning I had an Ah Ha moment—not during my early meditation--but while vacuuming. They do say that cleanliness is next to godliness, so I guess this shouldn’t be so surprising. Although I’ve always encouraged my clients to find ways of making what they HAVE to do more fun, I have to confess that I’ve struggled with applying this to mundane household chores, especially cleaning.
We are fortunate to have cleaning help every other week, but on the off-weeks, we do the cleaning ourselves. Although I’ve read Chop Wood, Carry Water, by Rick Fields and intellectually understand that even the most mundane activity can be turned into a spiritual practice, I still dislike cleaning, especially dusting.
It’s beginning to be the time of year when pollen blows in the open windows and leaves a yellow coating on furniture, so letting the dust and pollen collect for two weeks is no longer an option. This morning’s awareness has finally given me a way to turn dusting into spiritual housekeeping—instead of dusting furniture, I now caress it! As I dust the coffee table, I smile as I recall that this was the first piece of furniture my husband and I picked out as a couple. As I wipe dust and a few crumbs from the dining room table, I’m flooded with memories of silly family meals and holiday gatherings. With loving strokes, I buff the table’s surface, remembering the full table from the Thanksgiving of 2003, the last holiday with my father-in-law before his passing. This once-dreaded chore has now filled me with gratitude and love. I guess “Joy” isn’t just for dishes!