#28: Doing the Dirty Work
I usually like to add at least one more quote to my collection of positive quotes each day. Today's was from Refinery29, the news and media company my OTHER older sister works for. It said, "It's a good day to have a good day if you want a good day." Simple--but I liked it and figured it'd be an easy reminder to repeat in my head every so often. This piece from Jaime reminded me of it again. I've always really believed it's the little things that make one's day, and also the attitude you carry with you as you go. :)
- Amanda
Jaime Posa posa.jaime@gmail.com
Before I lived in El Salvador, I really didn’t find much joy in doing the dishes. I mean, if they required minimal rinsing and then they all fit in the dishwasher seamlessly in one fell swoop, then some joy, yes.
But it wasn’t until I lived in a rural town with a great deficit of economic opportunities, potable water and healthy food sources that I really began to find the joy in doing dishes. I read something that said something like, “Be grateful that there are many plates to be washed, for that means you had a meal to be shared.”
And after having lived in that town for two full years and witnessing not many full plates, I looked forward to doing the dirty work, as an opportunity to be fully present to every morsel of tortilla and bean and rice that had been on that plate. And all the hands and sparkly eyes that went into creating and sharing the meal together. I actually started making a game and a habit out of looking closely for the signs of the meal on each plate. And then thinking about the process it took to get there - from a seed being planted, to the sun and showers, to the farmer’s hands, to the lady who cooked... because it was all so very important and connected to the life we were living. And I wanted to be sure not to miss it.
Lately, my regular, seemingly mundane, errands have begun to feel rather “blah” to me. And I realized it was time I changed my attitude. So, before I head out, I started saying to myself, “I wonder who I will run in to today. I wonder what surprising thing is going to happen.”
Last week I was getting out of my car on one of those frigid days to drop a letter off at the post office and a guy walking that way stopped, reached out and said, “I’ll bring that in for you.” And it made me smile. And it also made me a bit warmer, since I could get back in my car faster.
And I thought to myself that I probably would have missed that if I had set out on my way as blah as opposed to being in wonder.
I teach and I write and I create things and I see if I can be a better listener more consistently every day. I enjoy using food, nature and yoga as tools for experiencing a deeper sense of joy, connection and freedom (within myself and with other beings). I began regularly referring to myself as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in 2012, after serving more than 2 years in El Salvador, and I aways refer to that because that experience is an inflection point for when I began more intentionally living. I actually sometimes say that Peace Corps "saved my life" and I kinda sorta mean that. My biggest joy in my work is when a child's face lights up.