Tozak Filming

I was having this thought while doing the dishes – the idea that the dishes will never end.

But that’s not the point.

Neither will the laundry. Nor the to do list. They will continue to grow and expand as you work on them. And so, why would we need to fight it?

There’s this inevitable acceptance we need to have with these different processes in life, where we don’t become attached to an end goal, but rather embrace the doing itself.

As I do the dishes, I find myself enjoying the task most when I’m not rushing through them. Instead, I can find a flow within the washing and notice the details on each dish, how the water swooshes around the bowl, or how the little marks of food fade away as I scrub.

And I don’t get to enjoy these sensory details if my mind is fixated on rushing through the dishes just to get them done – which will eventually be reset once the sink is full again (I’m in a family of 6, so there’s always dishes to do). 

I can apply this framework of being present with the process rather than rushing towards “the end” towards other tasks in my life. Whether it’s something to do with work, or chores, or exercise, or whatever. All of these activities share the same universal pattern of repetition. It’s like breathing. There’s the inhale and the exhale. There’s no “end” to breathing. Your body just breathes. Unless you consider that death. But are you trying to rush towards death? 

Alan Waats has this beautiful saying that the point of life is to live, just as the point of a dance is to dance. You don’t start a dance to get to the end. You don’t start a song to get to the end. You start it and then experience it.

I illustrate this concept because I know that mental dread and angst we can get towards our tasks, work, or to-do lists when we feel like all of our efforts towards doing them are met with the repetitive restoration of said work. 

But if we can slow down and really think about, “What is the point and end goal of what I’m doing?” then we may be able to cultivate a better, more fulfilling and enjoyable, relationship to the activity. 

If you notice a building of resistance or dread towards what you’re continually doing in your life, then reflect on where that’s coming from. And turn inwards to find your own answers as to how you should be looking at these things.