Upon reaching an age of reason, every unspoiled child can ask the same question, "Why should I was the dishes if they'll just get dirty again?"
And the answer that comes back boils down pretty much to, "Because I am the mom and I say so."Adults may chortle gently at teenage questions they themselves asked so many years ago, but there still seems to be an internal logic and good sense to them. No matter how neat and clean, how punctilious or attentive anyone's habits and executions may become, still there are changes in the attitude towards accomplishments or the accomplishments themselves.
The thing most desired comes to fruition, and then ....
The thing most hated still sucks, but....
The dishes, of whatever kind, just get dirty again.
Over and over and over again.
Of course, you could just stop washing the dishes and live in a pig pen. You could shoot your next-door neighbor's yappy dog in the head and pay whatever price that entailed. But ....
On reflection, accomplishments are a bit odd. Yes, it's done, but is never quite completely done, never static, never something steady-state. Eventually, I think you come back to the koan, "Who is the mom?" And without answering that one satisfactorily, the dishes will never get washed, the sky will never be blue, and that damned dog will keep on yapping.
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The accomplishment is in the task, not the end.
ReplyDeleteIt's in learning to wash well, not in having clean dishes.
You may as well try and polish a brick, as focus on the result.
The whole point of sailing the oceans, is to learn how to sail the oceans, not to get somewhere.
The task we are engaged in is more like learning to Dive off a high board. No prizes for getting to the water at the bottom.
The prize is learning the balance and harmony required to maintain the ideal State of Diving.
This requires myriad internal adjustments, unseen from outside.
Little wonder that most people make it to the water without ever encountering the Dive.
"On reflection, accomplishments are a bit odd. Yes, it's done, but is never quite completely done, never static, never something steady-state. Eventually, I think you come back to the koan, "Who is the mom?" And without answering that one satisfactorily, the dishes will never get washed, the sky will never be blue, and that damned dog will keep on yapping."
ReplyDeleteTouche. Well said.