The Value of the Mindless Task

So I didn't blog on Sunday because I was Sabbathing, or at least attempting to Sabbath. And I didn't blog yesterday because my day was so busy that I only remembered after I had turned off the computer and the light. It seems like I'll have a lot of days coming up like that over the next few weeks. And when I say a lot, what I really mean is everyday. Today for instance, I was away for twelve hours, with only enough time for a shower before I crash on my bed. Reading would prove to be a worthless attempt, so I'm being kind to myself and not trying.

With all this busyness it's easy to think to myself "If I only had one moment." It seems all day I'm either going or my mind is. But today, as I was working in the bookstore, I realized that my day is sprinkled with moments--with breaks from going going going both physically and mentally--if only I pay attention to my present. As I was stocking candy and soda, angry that I was having to stock candy and soda and even more angry as my mind looked forward to the work that looms over the weeks ahead, I heard a voice in my head that made me pause "savor this mundane moment." This moment where you are where you're meant to be, doing what you're meant to be doing, and you don't have to think about a thing except for stack, stack, stacking the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups one by one by one. The realization was so freeing, and the task so routine.

Photo from here.

So I ask myself: at what times in my day do I participate in mundane tasks that I learn to see as a break? And even upon identifying those moments in my everyday, will I allow myself to stop--both in physical speed and in mental analyzations--and savor and remain in the present?

That is a great question, self.

In Progress,

Lacy