Finding Meaning In the Necessity of the Mundane
I’ve been having one of those mornings when I haven’t been able to decide what I should do today. I feel so many responsibilities staring me in the face and they’re all running through my brain simultaneously. I want to write and I’d like to do some research to see what type of freelance and part-time writing opportunities are out there. Then there’s my cat-fur laden carpet that needs to be vacuumed, my food-splotched kitchen floor that needs to be mopped and my allergy-aggravating dusty furniture that needs to be cleaned. It’s all been calling my name, all at once.
Incapable of making a decision, I picked up a book I started a couple weeks ago. For me, the mystery of books is that I always seem to find some information or insight I need in my life right then and there, even though I’m not necessarily looking for it in the particular book I’m reading. And so it went this morning, when, in his book Pathways to Bliss, Joseph Campbell taught me the following: “All life has drudgery to it. . . . In Zen, however, even while you’re washing the dishes, that’s a meditation, that’s an act of life. It’s not a chore . . . Sometimes the drudgery itself can become part of the hero deed. The point is not to get stuck in the drudgery but to use it to free you. . . . When you know, from the heart in the middle, this is when you bring the factor of love in. As long as the dishes aren’t it, you’re just trapped in the chore. When you love the dishes and you think about what they mean in your life, when they’re your family’s food, sustenance, and all, then it’s all transformed into metaphor and you’re free.”
After I read Campbell’s words, I realized I need to practice moving through my day with an inner balance, not letting myself feel split because I’ve tagged some things that require my attention ”chores.” Cat hair and dust in high enough amounts are irritating whether you’re an allergy sufferer or not. If I begin to think of vaccuming and dusting as “metaphor” for keeping my family healthy and more comfortable, then the tasks become demonstrations of love and kindness and not dull duties. I never looked at housework that way before (making meals, yes, but housework, no).
When I’m ready to take a break from writing today, I’m going to try grabbing the vacuum with a little more gladness in my heart.
– Writeye
Posted on May 7th, 2009 under Books, Jungian Psychology • Tags: housework as metaphor, Zen philosophy of finding joy in all aspects life. • 
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