"When we clean, we begin to appreciate how things are there for us, supporting us, encouraging us, and when we appreciate things, we appreciate ourselves and one another. So, to respect the floor or the grounds, is to respect ourselves.
"This is how we develop intimacy and connection. Although everything is one, you will not understand what that means unless you practice it. When you clean, you experience the oneness. You realize everything is helping you.
" Not concerning yourself with the care of things may, on the surface, seem to be desirable but, in this context, it is considered lazy and self-centered, as if you are trying to exist apart from things. That's one of the reasons you feel disconnected and unsupported."
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GARY THORP : extract from "SWEEPING CHANGES", Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks.
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Goldy Hermitage
27 / November / 2017
Fotos : Bernard Hemensley
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For some reason, the attribution for the above quote fails to appear. It is by GARY THORP, from his book SWEEPING CHANGES. I'm completely baffled. APOLOGIES to Carole Leslie!
ReplyDeleteI can see it, but it is black text on black. So maybe font colour change will fix it. Thanks for this entry, btw, it is thoughtful and it reminded me i need to clean the loungeroom.
DeleteVery much Zen discipline, the cleaning and the sweeping, the interior project. I'd better get cracking!
ReplyDelete