Clean The Dishes, Clean Your Soul
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“Washing dishes is at the same time a means and an end. It is a means of cleaning and also a means of practicing mindfulness. Just as we need to keep our physical environment clean in order to avoid the spread of disease, we also need to keep our mental environment clean, clear, and calm. Washing dishes is one way to do this.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
I woke up yesterday with a bit too many dark thoughts going through my head. I can’t remember anymore what they were about, surely the usual worries. It happens a lot when I do not sleep enough.
The kitchen was a mess. I just had to clean everything before having the salted water and then the daily coffee.
Long ago, I read this quote by Tich, and I had forgotten about it, until yesterday when I began to clean. I didn’t make an effort to remember it. It just came to me, as it tends to happen with those thoughts.
When I grabbed the first dish to wash, the thought that ran through my mind was “Agh, again, the fucking dishes”, but once I began cleaning, my mind space began to get clean as well.
Forgotten Spirituality Of The Trivial
We have forgotten the magic of the trivial. The magic of “just being able to experience this life”. It shouldn’t be forgotten, it shouldn’t be regarded as: “Agh, again, the fucking dishes” either. The trivial is what we spent the most time in. You, me, your mom, and Brad Pitt, all spend the majority of our lives reading, scrolling, drinking, pooping, you know, living.
But we’re too enamored with the majestic “moments”. Feeling we should be living in a constant scene of awesomeness.
Instagram, and TikTok, of course, are to blame for this, with their twisted take on what reality truly is. All advertisement is to blame for this twisted take on reality. It’s understandable.
The point of our western society is to grow through sales and the consumption of products. So, we need each other to want these products. It’s OK, I guess, but I also think that you’re being played.
We cannot have something and be satisfied with it. It is not in our nature. It’s really incredible that we can get a Ferrari, and get as used to it as you get used to having an iPhone.
