Sunday, August 8, 2010

Chores and a penitential attitude don't mix

Today I weeded for 20 minutes. I did the same yesterday. So about 15% of the garden looks good.

It is difficult to think much about other things while weeding in the mild winter sunshine, which is why it's a great active meditation. One stray thought did cross my mind: too often we bring a penitential attitude to daily tasks. It is this sense of mortifying or subjugating the flash that makes the task unpleasant. It is the sense that such tasks are somehow a punishment, or at least a distraction from our 'real' life that robs them of satisfaction and meaning. (Oh well, I've had my fun, now I'd best weed the garden.)

Most of us don't object to the relentless necessity to eat at least daily or more frequently, indeed we look upon it as a secure source of pleasure. Somehow, for many of us, cleaning the house or weeding the garden doesn't rate the same level of cheerful anticipation. Yet we may enjoy the results at least as much as the results from eating.

This is post 91 of 100 posts in 100 days.
Sent from my iPhone

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