I don't know when it began. Maybe it has always been. It might have begun with the separation in my marriage or during or because of some other significant, difficult event in my life. It might have begun at any moment prior to this one but it's been going on for years now, I know for certain.
What I'm talking about is my quest for love. I don't simply mean a man loving a woman but it encompasses that as well. I'm talking about love. Pure, gentle, accepting, welcoming, peaceful love of my fellow earthly inhabitants. It includes all living, animate and inanimate things in this, this world, our galaxy, the Universe. This category includes me, my kids, my pets, my home, my yard, my fence, the grass, the flowers, the squirrels, the mountains... You see where I'm going.
My quest for love is the mission I chose to accept, to find that place in my heart and my mind where I am happy, content, peaceful and always loving what I'm doing, thinking, feeling, smelling, tasting, hearing as well as whomever or whatever is with me at the time.
I've always hated housekeeping with a passion. It's frustrating and the moment you're finished the job it's becoming undone again. I am the type of person who only likes to do a job once. Do it. Do it to my satisfaction. Next. That's my style.
Yesterday I worked on loving housekeeping.
I changed my usual approach from, "Good Lord! When someone spills juice down the front of the cupboard why in the WORLD didn't they wipe it down??" to "I am grateful the finish on this cupboard makes it so easy to clean compared to others I've cleaned!"
Sweeping went from, "It's like no one wipes their feet or takes their shoes off in this place," to "Thanks, God, for a home to sweep. If I had a dirt floor I'd sweep forever and might end up in China to boot." Hmm. I'd love to go to China.
Cleaning the stove went from, "Arrrrg! I can't handle this stuff the kids spill on the stovetop & allow to burn on rather than wipe it up," to "I am going to SHINE you, you Beautiful Instrument for expressing my love to my friends and family! You enable me to nourish them, appreciate them and spoil them."
That was my first attempt at loving housekeeping. My first try. I'll tell you what...I wasn't even half so frustrated as I often can be during and after the process. I really quite enjoyed having straightened up and somewhat polished many of the things in my environment and come out of it in a good mood. This experiment is worth continuing.
Enjoy your day, everybuddy! Maybe practice some love while you're at it.
