Zen and Washing Dishes

I am often asked in what ways do I meditate, and the answer is many.

One of the ways I meditate is by doing housework, and one of the best ways to do cleaning meditation is by washing dishes. If you will, sit back, relax and let me explain the zen of dishwashing. Now please keep in mind that this is the old fashioned kind of dishwashing I am talking about, not the kind where you load up a machine and let it do the work.

First you have a big pile of dirty dishes. This pile of dishes could represent a particular problem you are having, or a lesson that you are currently experiencing. They have leftover food on them, they don't smell good, they make a big disorganized mess, is this starting to make sense to you?

Okay, so you start by rinsing, or scraping the leftover food off the dishes and organizing them in preparation for washing them.

So now, you have a less smelly, reasonably organized pile of dirty dishes. They are still dirty, but now they are in some sort of order, you have acknowledged them, you have recognized what they are offering you, and you are prepared to receive their lesson. (See how I am tying this all together?)

So now you wash out your sink, put in the plug, squirt a little soap in and begin to fill the clean sink with warm soapy water. As the sink begins to fill, you notice that each soap bubble is reflecting the light and creating a rainbow. Now you realize that your sink is filled with millions of tiny rainbows! What an amazing revelation.

So you have organized the chaos of your life in preparation for experiencing and accepting a lesson. You have made clean the receptacle of your mind and body, in preparation for receiving your lesson. And you are prepared to experience your lesson.

Slowly you set the dirty dishes into the sink containing millions of beautiful rainbows. As you lower the dishes, your hands are surrounded by warm flowing water, soft against your skin, and you notice that the tiny rainbows are now encompassing your hands and the dirty dishes.

You now are ready to begin the process of experiencing your lesson.

You move the dish cloth over the dishes, carefully removing all traces of old food and debris that was sticking to the dish. You run the dish under clean running water to rinse the rest of the debris that might remain, and the soap off the dish. You place the clean, shiny dish in the drainer.

You have received your lesson, accepted it into yourself, and replaced the chaos that it was with a perfect act of love.

This is the zen of dishwashing. I hope you find it as satisfying as I do.

In love and gratitude for all of my lessons, SisterSea