My husband and I are in the thick of renovating an old home. Along with the many other tasks that go along with improving and creating a liveable space, we have been putting up new drywall. If you've ever worked with drywall, you know about the seemingly endless mudding, sanding, mudding, sanding you do. So it is with some grumbling that I took up a sanding block and began to diligently sand the drywall.
As I was sanding the walls, I started to 'zone out'.
I think I left my body a few times and floated above the cloud of dust. My body was on automatic pilot while my hand and arm spiraled the sanding block along the dried plaster. Occasionally, a fraction of my attention returned enough to shift to another section of the wall.
While my body worked to slough off the bumpy imperfections and smooth the wall, my spirit was in a space of contemplation and meditation. And a few of the spaces in my life that needed smoothing out also gave way under this 'Sanding for the Soul'.
I remember watching a movie called 'The Karate Kid' [you may have heard of it]. It made a big splash in the 1980s and it was about a boy was learning karate from a old Asian man named Mr. Miyagi. At first, Miyagi gave the boy odd jobs to do around the house such as painting the fence, sanding the wood deck, waxing an old classic car, etc. Eager to learn karate, the boy at first submitted to the tasks, but eventually he was so bored and frustated at being a laborer and not learning anything about karate that he confronted the old man.
Mr. Miyagi showed him that all of the moves he had performed methodically while painting, sanding, and waxing were the basis for defensive moves in karate. Miyagi also illustrated that the movements put the boy into a mental space to prepare him for the learning and doing of karate.
This is an example of how sometimes in life we must embrace the tasks that bore us to find the beauty and lessons in the journey.
So here I am sanding and sanding and sanding until I am standing deep in white powder, pondering the intricacies of the Universe, meditating on my wax-on wax-off mode . . . finding a place of gratitude.
And while I do not recommend that you allow yourself to go into meditation when operating machines or equipment, I do hope you will see along with me that mundane tasks can be spiritual tasks.
Whether I am washing the dishes, weeding the garden, or sweeping the floors, I will try to remember that beyond the grumbling there is a place of peace. I am washing, weeding, and sweeping away the patterns that I no longer need to make room for new and clean thoughts.
I encourage you to keep this purpose in mind with your own spiritual journey. Sometimes the process can seem slow or boring or frustrating until we understand our role.
Whether you are Practicing the Presence of God, Listening to Your Inner Guide, doing Mind Focus exercises, or enjoying your Meditation Station, enjoy the journey and the experience.
And especially when you are 'lost' in a mundane task, remember that by occupying your left brain with the physical activity your right brain can prepare for some awesome karate ... er, I mean meditations.
As I was sanding the walls, I started to 'zone out'.
I think I left my body a few times and floated above the cloud of dust. My body was on automatic pilot while my hand and arm spiraled the sanding block along the dried plaster. Occasionally, a fraction of my attention returned enough to shift to another section of the wall.
While my body worked to slough off the bumpy imperfections and smooth the wall, my spirit was in a space of contemplation and meditation. And a few of the spaces in my life that needed smoothing out also gave way under this 'Sanding for the Soul'.
I remember watching a movie called 'The Karate Kid' [you may have heard of it]. It made a big splash in the 1980s and it was about a boy was learning karate from a old Asian man named Mr. Miyagi. At first, Miyagi gave the boy odd jobs to do around the house such as painting the fence, sanding the wood deck, waxing an old classic car, etc. Eager to learn karate, the boy at first submitted to the tasks, but eventually he was so bored and frustated at being a laborer and not learning anything about karate that he confronted the old man.
Mr. Miyagi showed him that all of the moves he had performed methodically while painting, sanding, and waxing were the basis for defensive moves in karate. Miyagi also illustrated that the movements put the boy into a mental space to prepare him for the learning and doing of karate.
This is an example of how sometimes in life we must embrace the tasks that bore us to find the beauty and lessons in the journey.
So here I am sanding and sanding and sanding until I am standing deep in white powder, pondering the intricacies of the Universe, meditating on my wax-on wax-off mode . . . finding a place of gratitude.
And while I do not recommend that you allow yourself to go into meditation when operating machines or equipment, I do hope you will see along with me that mundane tasks can be spiritual tasks.
Whether I am washing the dishes, weeding the garden, or sweeping the floors, I will try to remember that beyond the grumbling there is a place of peace. I am washing, weeding, and sweeping away the patterns that I no longer need to make room for new and clean thoughts.
I encourage you to keep this purpose in mind with your own spiritual journey. Sometimes the process can seem slow or boring or frustrating until we understand our role.
Whether you are Practicing the Presence of God, Listening to Your Inner Guide, doing Mind Focus exercises, or enjoying your Meditation Station, enjoy the journey and the experience.
And especially when you are 'lost' in a mundane task, remember that by occupying your left brain with the physical activity your right brain can prepare for some awesome karate ... er, I mean meditations.
Comments
“While my body worked to slough off the bumpy imperfections and smooth the wall, my spirit was in a space of contemplation and meditation. And a few of the spaces in my life that needed smoothing out also gave way under this 'Sanding for the Soul'.”
Isn’t it amazing how even when driving your soul wanders while your mind concentrates on the white and yellow lines. Soul’s contemplations and healings give way again to the hum of the road. How did I get here? Both journeys together moving us forward …
And another: “I will try to remember that beyond the grumbling there is a place of peace.” I’ll remember this when I’m doing those “things” I don’t relish…. Wax on…Wax off….
Thank you for your enlightening post.
Love and Light, Nina P.