Can Scrubbing the Floor be Fulfilling?
Yesterday I was trying to take my own advice of doing one thing at a time. So, I’m washing dishes, I’m walking with my dog, etc.
None of these actions was inherently fulfilling. They were just okay. Which, I think, is the point. Anything I do is only as fulfilling as the attention I bring to it.
That’s why (I guess) ashrams in India put seekers to work scrubbing the floor with a brush and bucket. Not an inherently fulfilling activity. But can I make it so by the consciousness I bring to it?
Most of us (myself included) are not that good at bringing awareness to an activity unless we really love it. We’re sort of expecting the activity itself to bring us fulfillment.
That’s what Eckhart Tolle means when he says that the world isn’t here to make me happy. With any activity, it’s not really the activity (the world) that creates satisfaction but rather the attention I bring to the activity (the world).
Do I really believe this? Not through and through. But I’m playing with it.