(2 min read)
Today I turned 41.
Cue one of my favorite songs from my high school days, “#41” by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds:
But that was just a random thought unrelated to what I’ll share.
Today I’ve been doing (and will continue to do) many of my favorite activities.
A lot will go exactly as I’d hope.
But I felt inspired to write a quick note here today about doing what I don’t like.
Every morning, even on my birthday, after I shower, I use a small towel to dry the walls of the shower.
Living in Georgia, we’ve noticed that our showers have been very hard to keep clean.1
Drying the shower after using it seems to help.
I’ve hated that chore so much, though.
I love hot showers even more than most people do (I think).
It’s one of my favorite parts of life.
But currently it’s surrounded by two activities that I’ve not enjoyed:
Exercising 🡺 Showering 🡺 Wiping down the shower
However, in recent days, I’ve been trying to adopt a new mindset.
I try to pay more attention.
When I pick up the dry cloth from its hook, I feel it in my hand.
I really notice the drops of water stuck on the walls.
Where are they? Where have they gathered and puddled?
What does it feel like when I start to soak water droplets into the towel?
How much water can it hold?
What does wringing it out feel like?
What does the water sound like when it hits the floor of the tub?
Back when I had never heard of meditation and was first being taught some approaches to it, I remember being handed a raisin and instructed to experience it as if I’d never encountered one before.
What does it look / smell / feel / taste / sound like?
Paying attention can turn ordinary experiences extraordinary.
And make boring or annoying chores into something more relaxing or inspiring.
I’ve also embraced this new mindset for another chore I’ve hated.
We have a huge magnolia tree in our front yard.
Its roots led to sewage backing up into our house.
It could have been disastrous (but we got lucky in certain ways).
Even now that the tree hopefully isn’t disrupting our plumbing, its branches and leaves require so much maintenance.
And the even bigger problem is these “grenades” that it drops every day that I need to keep picking up.
I don’t know what they’re actually called.
They’re kind of like pinecones.
They are everywhere, and they cause trip hazards (especially for older folks, and I think they could twist my ankle too).
I’ve been so tempted to cut this tree down.
I’ve been letting it bug me for so long.
But I now call it “my mindful magnolia”.
As I pick up these grenades, I try to really pay attention.
Let my mind focus on nothing else.
Take a break from all distractions.
Be here.
Receiving what the tree is giving.
I even smile.
🕙 Recent posts:
🟢 A postal truck more beautiful than you’ve ever seen
🟢 If you were to read only SOME
👀 Caught my eye this week:
Ismo is so funny! 😆
🗨️ Quote of the day
“You’re in it for the game and not the trophy.”
Happy New Year! 🎉
Maybe there is more humidity than I notice.
Maybe we’ll end up buying a dehumidifier for the bathroom.
But even having dealing with that taking up space and requiring attention could present a different kind of annoyance.
So for now, we dry the shower every time.
Especially now that I use that activity as a sort of meditation.
Need this mindfulness tip for folding and putting away laundry........
It turns out you can sell magnolia pods on Etsy. Who knew.