Food for Thought

Having just completed an hour of ironing, I got to thinking about all the repetitive tasks involved in running a house, or indeed, just plain living.

It's extremely unlikely that I will die with a duster in my hand. It is not a task that I spend significant amounts of time on, I do it when I think that there might be pretty patterns to be enjoyed when I lift a crocheted doily, or gaze across dust at eye height and I get a fit of guilt.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a grub, indeed housework gives me great satisfaction. I love to see the ironing pile transformed to neatly folded piles of items and shirts hung on hangers; to enjoy the shine on a newly swept, or washed floor; to enjoy the clear reflection in a freshly polished mirror; to inhale the fragrance of furniture polish when I have attacked the furniture.

But I am aware how time consuming all these tasks are and the necessity of constant repetition. I can get quite maudlin thinking about it all. What's the point of it all?

Well, I'm pondering all this and realizing that life is made up of daily rounds,for example; cooking, eating, washing up. Over and over we repeat these tasks sometimes happily sometimes not. But what is the alternative? Should I think there's more to life than this perpetual round of tasks? The only two obvious ways of escape from them that I can see is to be exceedingly wealthy and pay some one else to perform them for me, or to die. The first option is highly unlikely and to be honest, I'd probably be bored, the second is not attractive to me.

I have come to realize, somewhat late in life you may think, that the alternative is not freedom from the tasks, but rather a different view of them.

All of life is made up of repetitious cycles, repetition of time through hours, days, months, seasons, years. My challenge is to make the most of each opportunity, to see all of life as a blessing, including housework.

One only needs to talk to someone in less good health than oneself to realize that they would be happy to flick duster, lift an iron, sweep a floor.

Its all about attitude and faithfulness. The daily round of tasks may not be exciting at first glance, but, like I said there are lots of people who would love to be able to complete such activities because they are currently unable to do so.
I have come to realize that attitude and faithfulness to mundane tasks is important.

I'm going to have to stop ironing and thinking!
I should add at this point that my husband is extremely helpful with house hold chores, and I am very grateful to him, however ironing is not one of his things, and this leads me to all this pondering....

Happy Tuesday
Love Simply Susan