A Monk's Guide

...to cleaning and so much more!

When I’m really overwhelmed by something, I either cook, write, or clean.

I won’t bombard you with the details, but suffice it to say that I’ve been doing a lot of all three lately.

Earlier this summer, I came across this book.

It’s chock full of simple nuggets of wisdom, most of which extend beyond the act of cleaning.

Here are my top five:

• *the most important thing about washing dishes is not to allow them to pile up

  *when you are polishing the floor, you are polishing the mind

• *designate shikunichi days - days for mending items and performing maintenance

• *you must survey the overall situation before establishing what to do

• *Zengosaidan- put all your efforts into each day…Don’t put it off until tomorrow

I returned to this book today, and what struck me was how each thing that we do, no matter how mundane, can be a meditation.

A meditation on the present.

A meditation on what’s provided.

A meditation on the right-ordering that we all want in our lives.

~|~

Who knew that cleaning was a small is in the large!

Wishing you all things good,

Tamara