Weekly Words of Wellness Archive
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• Living in Relationships
• Gaining Healthy Perspectives
• Practicing Self Care
• Building Values
• Spirituality
Gaining Healthy Perspectives
"Momisms 2013"
"Strength of Character"
"The Chess Teacher"
"Assist Leaders"
"What the Pope Election Teaches Us About Making Good Decisions"
"What's Your Story?"
"The Eyes of Our Children Are Upon Us"
"Many Kinds of Help"
"Everyday Epiphanies"
"Receiving Gifts"
"Your Christmas Present"
"Top Secret"
"Driving With Our Lights Off"
"Learning To Be A Good Referee"
"Rocking The Message"
"Full Contact"
"Harder Assignments"
"Inspiring Others"
Living Water
"The Road Less Traveled"
"Momisms"
"Heightened Awareness"
"The Power of Prediction"
"Hope Against All Odds"
"A Whole New Light"
"Of Storms and Stories"
"Love and Delight"
"Presenteeism"
"Vocational Wellness"
"Outsourcing Our Resolutions"
"Unwrapping the Gift of Gratitude"
"As Sick As Our Secrets, As Well As Our Honesty"
"Your Current Balance"
"The Universal Wisdom of the Twelve Steps-Part 2""
"Back To School"
"Many Kinds of Love"
"The Best Time To Plant A Tree"
"Life Is Not A Spectator Sport"
"New Muscles"
"And To Dust We Shall Return"
"Listening to Whispers"
"Finding Our Voice"
"Light One Candle"
"Whatever We Pay Attention To Is What Will Grow"
"This Election Season, I Vote For......
“In the Autumn, Time Seems ‘Speeded Up’”
"Keeping the Problem, the Problem"
"Overcoming Homesickness"
Deep Wells and Deep Wellness
In Honor of the World Cup: "The Beautiful, Simple Game"
"What Does 45 degrees feel like"
"How Do You Spell Success?"
"The Best Olympic Race of All"
"Life In Our Years"
Ritual and Community
Rose-colored or Tortoise Shell?
Of Mowing and Mindfulness
Endings and Beginnings
You’ve Got Talent
May Your Easter Joy Be Solid This Year
Can We? Yes. Will We? Perhaps.
May 18, 2009
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Of Mowing and Mindfulness
The Rev. Dr. Scott Stoner
A Buddhist monk was asked what he did before he attained enlightenment. He responded, "I chopped wood and carried water." He was then asked what he did after he achieved the highest state of enlightenment. This time he responded, "I chopped wood and carried water." The point is that living a spiritual life does not always mean that we change our routines or behaviors (although it certainly may). Living a spiritual life changes us on the inside; it changes how we think and how we feel.All that I just shared with you came to my mind yesterday when I was mowing the lawn. If you were to walk by my house while I was mowing the lawn you might think to yourself, "there's a guy mowing the lawn." This would be true, but what you might not realize is that what you are also observing is a guy who is having a spiritual moment. You see, I love cutting the grass. I have been looking forward to it for weeks and am so excited the time has come again here in Wisconsin for this weekly ritual. Cutting the grass gives me an hour all to myself and creates a space for me to think, relax and reflect on my day, week or life--and all while I'm working! Mowing the yard is mindless work, but when done in a mindful way becomes energizing.
All of us have numerous mindless tasks that we do on a regular basis: brushing our teeth, taking a shower, making breakfast, lunch or dinner, driving to work or school, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, paying the bills, weeding the garden, picking up the dry cleaning, and cleaning the garage are all good examples. To be alive is to do these things, or some version of them. These are the givens of life. What is optional though is how we will do these things. Will we do them with impatience or resentment, or will we do them with a spirit of gratitude and grace? Attitude will not alter the time needed to perform a task, but will determine whether we end up feeling content or exhausted when we are through.
If you or I were a Christian monk, we would gather with other monks from our community for common prayer at least six times a day. This daily routine is fundamental to the spiritual life of a monk. This practice of gathering for prayer throughout the day and evening is known as the "liturgy of the hours," and has been observed in monastic communities since the fourth century. You and are not called to live a monastic life, but like the monks, we do order our lives around our daily routines. We may not officially observe the liturgy of the hours, but we do each observe the liturgy of our lives.
The next time you have a mindless task to do, try making it a mindful task instead, doing it with grace and gratitude for all that you have and all that you have been given. Remember, it won't take any longer to do, and it just might make a difference in your life and in the lives around you.
