Is it true that ANYTHING – yes, anything at all – can be fun, joyful, a grand adventure? Sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn’t it? Surely the gratitude print below is pure nonsense. Isn’t it?
What? Are you kidding me? What can possibly be fun about doing the dishes, or making beds, or vacuuming, or …?
But think about it: from our earliest age, we are taught by society, our parents, our schools, our entertainment industry, our media, what things are fun – and which are definitely Not. Fun. At. All.
But the truth is that these notions are just that – notions. It doesn’t mean they’re absolutely true. For example, doing dishes isn’t considered fun at all. But what if you didn’t have any dishes? What if you had no way to cook or warm your food, but instead you just opened a can, used your fingers and started eating. Wouldn’t those pesky pans and plates be suddenly more valuable? Wouldn’t you appreciate these utensils more if you’d been without them for a while?
And what if you decided to make doing dishes a sensual experience? What if you stopped thinking about your crappy day and just noticed the warm water running over your fingers, or found satisfaction in watching food particles go down the drain, or felt the “slippery” soap and noticed how it felt on your hands? It isn’t the chore itself that is annoying – it’s how we feel about it, how we approach it, how we’ve labelled it in our mind.
Once we realize that we’ve just mentally categorized tasks, often without even thinking about them, we realize that we can find joy anywhere and everywhere. OK, I can’t find joy at the dentist’s office – at least until I’m walking out the door – but I’ve gotten rather good and enjoying common, ordinary tasks, rather than resenting them and just wishing they were over. And you can, too. Anyone can.
So if you are wondering if there just possibly, just maybe, might be something to this seemingly absurd notion, then use our quote above to stay reminded of this very important truth. The only thing you have to lose is your misery.
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