Washing the Dishes

I like to find a sense of rhythm even in mundane tasks.

Everyone has a flow about them, a way in which they do things, like a measure of their individuality in dealing with the regularities of life. What’s regular for me in life might not be the same for you. ‘You’ is also a future version of myself reading this piece having a completely different meaning of regularity! What matters is we all have our own unique experiences.

Turning the clock to the past back to my University days. I’m not (never will be) as good a cook as many of my other mates I was with back then. I love them tremendously for all the food I have been served by them. In those group get-togethers, in order to be of any service at all, I used to take up the role of cleaning the dishes. A wonderfully mundane task for which I believe I’ve achieved an unmentioned certification along with my engineering degree.

There is a drill which I follow when it comes to this task, and it is composed of 3 key points which have been endorsed by my wife whom I regard as the highest level of authority when it comes to any task in the house, and 99% of tasks outside the house. She is the be all and end all. These key points are outlined below:

1. Don’t stack dirty dishes on top of each other, it just increases the amount of work because instead of one messy side, you have two.
2. Remove the food waste from the kitchen sink if it starts to float over the dishes that are waiting to be cleaned, again this increases the amount of work just like before.
3. If the kitchen sink outlet is clogged, a burst of water helps unclog it and you’re good to continue cleaning uninterrupted.

I mentioned that I like to find a sense of rhythm even in mundane tasks.

What I like more is to try and find meaning in everyday tasks. Is there something more the universe is conveying while I am washing these dishes?

The 3 points I spoke about earlier translate to:

1. If you’re bogged down by something, don’t keep adding to your woes by reducing your self-worth. Understand it is a phase and do not stack your faults.
2. Choose to remove a previous bias and approach a situation in the present moment. Bringing back faults from the past in any argument is immature, so remember not to dig graves from the past.
3. A bit of chaos can lead to something beautiful. It is a good idea to shake things up every once in a while and carry on with a renewed sense of purpose.

Simple things can lead to great conclusions. It’s not about how great the above conclusions may or may not be. For me, it’s always been about looking for meaning in the little things.

I’m about to go and begin another round of washing the dishes. I’ll start by playing music while I do it. Today’s starting soundtrack is “The Little Things Give You Away” by Linkin Park.