It's probably weird and very unmanly to say this - but I confess I love washing dishes.
Yes, it's manual labor - a monotonous, unpleasant, unavoidable job that most people dislike and procrastinate on. Some would say it's abominable that humans should have to devote their time to such a mundane, unproductive task even as we have successfully automated other similar tasks. And guess what, I have an effective dishwasher at my place.
So I can't really rationalize why I like doing this task. But I can describe the good parts that I feel make it pleasant for me.
There's the running water. You just have to read a couple of stories in public health magazines about the water situation in some parts of the world to start feeling immensely grateful for something that most people take for granted. I flick a lever and there's potentially unlimited clean drinkable water flowing at the right pressure right inside my house. You learn to value it very quickly. But it gets better - I get water at the temperature I desire! This used to be a luxury available to few people not long ago. That thought occurs to me almost every time I turn on the tap.
Then there's the dishwashing liquid - some really good quality stuff is available out there. Perhaps it's some OCD I have but I love when something that's greasy and grimy comes off clean and shiny with just a few drops of colorful liquid and some easy scrubbing.
Sitting isn't all that healthy, they tell us. So I like to stay upright when I'm working on the computer. Dishwashing adds to that standing time during the day.
Now, once you zone out of whatever you are doing and focus just on the things in front, you start noticing the small details - the warm water flowing over your hands, the smell of the detergent, the alternating soapy and scrubbed clean feel of the vessels,the grime flowing down the drain, the vessels shining and gleaming, the squeak of the newly clean bowl...the rest of the world fades away and I don't even realize when my internal dialogue starts and some new ideas emerge. I feel this is one of the simplest ways to practice getting into Flow. It really acts as a de-stressor.
To get this kind of experience, as Robert Pirsig says, you have to have the right tools. If any one of these things become a burden or things don't work as they should - the water is sputtering or you have to fill it up from a distance, the soap sucks, the place you are standing in is messy or uncomfortable - it will become very easy to hate the work.
I'm lucky to have these simple luxuries. And I like getting them to work for me.
Count one more here. As the grease makes way for my reflection on the dishes, my stress level gives way to a contended here-now mindset. In fact, I am yet to find a more effective activity for stress relief.
ReplyDelete"Washing Dishes" by Thich Nhat Hanh
"To my mind, the idea that doing dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you aren't doing them. Once you are standing in front of the sink with your sleeves rolled up and your hands in the warm water, it is really quite pleasant. I enjoy taking my time with each dish, being fully aware of the dish, the water, and each movement of my hands. I know that if I hurry in order to eat dessert sooner, the time of washing dishes will be unpleasant and not worth living.
That would be a pity, for each minute, each second of life is a miracle! If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert, I will be equally incapable of enjoying my dessert. With the fork in my hand, I will be thinking about what to do next, and the texture and the flavor of the dessert, together with the pleasure of eating it, will be lost. I will always be dragged into the future, never able to live in the present moment.
Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred. In this light, no boundary exists between the sacred and the profane. I must confess it takes me a bit longer to do the dishes, but I live fully in every moment, and I am happy. Washing the dishes is at the same time a means and an end -- that is, not only do we do the dishes in order to have clean dishes, we also do the dishes just to do the dishes, to live fully in each moment while washing them."
Oh, good! So there are at least three abnormal people in this world.
DeleteThanks for the link! Must read Thich Nhat Hanh, he has been referenced widely.
I'm not gonna say that I LOVE doing it, but it's definitely a sort of therapy for me. I don't allow myself to feel bored because I think there is always something - useful - to do instead. So, washing dishes is one of my ways to, let's say, relax.
ReplyDeleteAh! Good to see there are people who don't buy into the cliched concept of this kind of labour being completely drab. Washing dishes as therapy...sounds unique.
DeleteThanks for weighing in!
"...I love when something that's greasy and grimy comes off clean and shiny with just a few drops of colorful liquid and some easy scrubbing". Sounds poetic... Well-written.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading :)
Deleteomg. marry me.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Best comment ever.
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