"I'll take care of it"

not1not2

Just a minute ago, I half-consciously said to someone "I'll take care of it." The 'it' that I was referring to was a menial task not unlike the many other activities I do at work every day. What struck me though was the phrase I used to respond. I thought of how it would actually feel 'to care for' this virtually insignificant task. Could I bring an attitude of nurturing to such a mundane & tedious task? I realised that, even though it seems kind of silly, I could. More importantly, I noticed the positive turn of my mind when reflecting on this. I realised that not only did I want 'take care of' this task, but that I wanted to bring this attitude to as much of my life as possible. Now, I am nowhere near the state of awareness & collectedness to succeed at this regularly yet, but it I feel like it is something I can try at. I also feel like it is something that I really want to do. I often take very little value in my work & most of my day-to-day tasks, but I think if I can cultivate such an attitude, my whole life will begin to be more meaningful & rewarding.

Anyway, just some thoughts passing through my mind. Thought I'd share them with you all in the hopes you will find something positive in them.

metta
_/\_

Simonthepilgrim

This is a grace-filled state, N1n2, and, as you say, achieved sporadically at first. The great joy is that it seems to arise more often as we practise it., It has been described variously and, in Christian literature, you can find it interpreted as a practice of the presence of God and celebrated by the poet George Herbert.

In my own internal inventory, these wonderful hours are labelled "compassionate attention". No job is then menial or, even, disgusting.

Palzang

All the same taste.

Palzang

YogaMama

Great post...it's a good reminder to me to be a lot more mindful during my everyday tasks. It really makes a big difference when you are truly mindful of every single thing that you do. Life is good!!

inthedharma

Good post and reminder..........Be mindful at all times.........

Brigid

I used to be a workaholic, one of those "mad workers" you see rushing around trying to do everything perfectly for hours and hours on end with little or no social life. I understand now what I was trying to do, part of which was feed my ego. I wanted people to think I was a great worker, a work horse, I could get anything done, and get it done better, faster and more efficiently that anyone else.

When I got the job in the kitchen at the little hospital in the town near to where I live one of our duties was to serve the meal trays to the patients. The hospital had around 40 beds and it was a rare occurrence when they were all filled. Downstairs in the kitchen I worked like a whirling dervish but when I served the patients something changed in me. I was the same in retail. As soon as there was a human on the other end of my service I automatically slowed down, took the time to make it as pleasant a human to human experience as I could. Serving the patients quickly became my favourite part of the job. I loved the interaction. I loved to serve. Loved it. I felt that there was such a beautiful, important almost sacred aspect to the serving and helping of these patients. I especially loved it when an older patient, perhaps one of the patients on our "Chronic" ward (the ones who were in longterm and who I got to know and love) would ask me for help with unwrapping something on their tray, or putting the cream in their coffee or any other number of things.

Then I noticed that I started to think of the pots and pans and the dishes and cutlery in a different way. Instead of being objects they became tools connected to my patients upstairs. I wanted my time downstairs, elbow deep in the sink, to be as meaningful for me as my upstairs work. So I started washing the pots and pans with mindfulness, even lovingly, and my job quickly turned into something much more meaningful, almost prayerful. I loved it so much, as menial as some might think the job.

Unfortunately I got injured before I had the chance to really practice this new way of serving but it did get stuck in my head. I often thought of the millions and millions of homemakers throughout the years who worked so lovingly to make their homes warm and safe and comfortable for their families. They took care of them and the work was never drudgery, it was loving service. Whereas when I used to clean the family house it was always amid mumbled curses and complaints about "why couldn't people just pick up after themselves? Why do they have to do this, and that and the other?"

Serving those patients really taught me that it isn't what you do, or even how you do it, it's why you do it that makes all the difference. Once you have the why, the how takes care of itself.

colleen

hey thats awesome n1n2

i think of that post as a " short cut to a big shift "
THANKS..LOL

not1not2

Brigid,
The idea of serving others has been coming up more frequently for me lately, so your post resonates with me. I've been finding that the desire to serve, nurture & care for others is a very wholesome state of mind & helps me reconnect with the world when I find myself objectifying everything/everyone or getting in overly abstract views of the world. It also seems to quite naturally keep one in line with the precepts & the eightfold path (for the most part).

Colleen & all,
Thank you for your positive responses. I appreciate them.

much metta
_/\_

Brigid

I've been finding that the desire to serve, nurture & care for others is a very wholesome state of mind & helps me reconnect with the world when I find myself objectifying everything/everyone or getting in overly abstract views of the world. It also seems to quite naturally keep one in line with the precepts & the eightfold path (for the most part).

I agree. Whenever I put my heart in my service everything feels "right" somehow. I feel spiritually and emotionally healthy, right, centered and at peace. Things seem to fall right into place.

LatinaMermaid

"I often take very little value in my work & most of my day-to-day tasks, but I think if I can cultivate such an attitude, my whole life will begin to be more meaningful & rewarding. "

Yes. Although meaningful is more easily seen than rewarding, lol