Tending to the Mundane

Simba, Jungle Cat

Lately I’ve been addressing the rushing, hurrying, running-late piece of my life.  I actually ran a stop watch yesterday while I did my various personal routines.  I discovered how much time they really took to accomplish without pressuring myself for time.  Now I have the facts, mundane as they are.  I can schedule my mornings in a structure of reality rather than the frenzied structure of fantasy.  Reality:  I’m not the bionic woman and my car is not a time machine.  The small things are important and they need my time.  Period.

These are mundane little facts and truths.  But they are my reality.  I know from experience that when my mind is racing with my to-do list and responsibilities, I’m frenzied.  When I’m not racing, I can tend to the to-dos and responsibilities with calm mindfulness.  And I can think calmly about the bigger stuff.  But really, it’s all important.  I’ve read a lot about the spirituality in tending to the mundane realm and I’ve understood it intellectually.  I’m finally discovering that fact personally.

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My Little Ah-Ha Moment

My two maples.  Trees are such huge plants.

I’ve been noticing lately how I always seem to be rushing to get out of my house and rushing more to get where I’m going.  Rushing feels icky and causes stress.  Unnecessary stress.  This morning I had an “Ah-ha Moment” about it.  I can picture people reading this, yawning and rolling their eyes, saying “Duh, Mandy.”  Or probably something more eloquent.  But here it is anyway, because realizing this was a big deal for me:  I simply don’t give myself enough time to do the things I need to do.  Period.  Take showering and getting dressed, for example.   If I rush, rush, rush, and race I can do it in 10 minutes.  So that’s what I typically allow myself.  But here’s what that 10 minutes usually looks like:  It usually begins when I’m still sitting at the computer.  I just need to publish this post and log off.  Oh, and I just want to check my e-mail. Once I’m out of the chair I’ll pass through the kitchen and see the dirty plates in the sink so I stop to throw them in the dishwasher en route.  Then I notice my un-made bed, so I  tend to that.  Brushing my teeth, putting on lotion, running to the laundry room to find socks weren’t figured in to the scenario either.  Violá.  My 10 minutes is already spent and I’m not even in the shower yet.  And I need to be heading out the door right now.  Which leads to not having enough time to get where I’m going because, let’s face it,  I can’t shower and get dressed in just 10 minutes.  Holy moly.  And I wonder why I’m always rushing maybe even a little tiny bit late…

So I’m going to

1.  Get Real About How Much Time Daily Tasks Take Without Rushing, and

2.  Actually Allow Myself At Least That Much Time To Do Them.

This isn’t rocket science, and I know that.  But it’s going to make a huge difference in my daily life.  My work centers around alleviating the ravages of stress in peoples’ bodies and psyches and it also serves to help them better handle the stresses that come their way.  I’m going to practice a little preventative medicine of another sort in my personal life to help eliminate unnecessary stress.  This is part of being healthy and taking good care of myself.