This is a great reminder, thank you for the nudge to pause and be mindful. Over the years I’ve become more and more in love with the mundane after a personal health crisis. Rather than “I have to do” I try and say “I GET to do”.
Yes, I like that. I GET to go to the grocery store again because I forgot the cheese. I GET to answer all these emails (okay, that one is gonna take some time!).
Yes, I like that. I GET to go to the grocery store again because I forgot the cheese. I GET to answer all these emails (okay, that one is gonna take some time!).
Reminds me of something I use: Instead of “I have to” I’ll shift the attitude to “I get to”, recognizing the fact I’m *able* to wash the dishes (and have clean dishes) and that I have dishes at all to begin with, for example.
I really like your magic wand thought experiment. Reminds us that the way we mentally relate to what happens is always a choice. Resistance isn’t just futile, it’s pointless really. It’s like adding dirt as a topping on our bowl of ice cream… LOL
Yes, I like that. I GET to go to the grocery store again because I forgot the cheese. I GET to answer all these emails (okay, that one is gonna take some time!).
I love the synchronicity this reflects to my own life. I had a thought doing laundry last week. As I picked up my backet of clothes I thought to myself - this task is one that requires a certain level of exertion, one that not all people can do. A loved one is going though cancer treatments and needs a hip replacement and even laundry is difficult. It's humbling to realize how many things I take for granted. But then stress creeps in and I'm just trying to get through the week, forgetting the lessons. Thanks for the reminder.
Oh, don’t you worry. Even after writing all these posts on philosophical takes myself, I still have a bad habit of forgetting to apply the takeaways. It can be difficult for these things to actually sink in.
This post really made me think in a different way. I have lost too many friends this year and doing the mundane things will be blessings because I can still do them and my friends can't. They would probably be very happy to have the chance to empty the dishwasher again. I sent this writing on to a friend who needs to be grateful for the ability to little chores now that she's 80 years old.
I find joy in weeding. It’s my least favourite job on my allotment but it allows my mind to wander due to the repetitive nature of it. Then there is the satisfaction of a job well done when I have completed it. Joy can be found in the most mundane of things so thank you for the reminder
I have gotten to a point where I am able to use the mundane to sort things in my mind that need sorting. I am disabled and there are lots of things I'm unable to do some days and so often I'm grateful I can do the mundane things.
Interesting - and not at all coincidental - that tasks like wood chopping and dishwashing and others of this ilk are all non-phone/internet/electronic-based.
There is obvious value in being "connected," but there's an equal, and perhaps greater, value in allowing ourselves time for disconnection. If we embrace those water carrying times, perhaps we can better practice that contentment.
I really couldn't agree more. I think the more stimulating the task, including just about anything involving the internet, the less of any of this really applies. You hit the nail on the head.
Was just reflecting on how much time I spend doing chores around the house (because we can't afford a house cleaner), and how much I hate it. Personally, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen (cooking and cleaning), and it's obligation I can never escape. However, I also spend a lot of time writing, thinking, and thinking about what I need to write and when I need a break but don't want to go for a walk or workout, or whatever, I turn on a podcast and clean the kitchen. It's a healthy timeout – a meditation, if you will, so I can get back to the work that matters. It makes me feel a small sense of accomplishment when I'm stuck on wording loftier matters.
I know what you mean. I feel like that sort of multitasking often gets misbranded as a sort of wrestling match with “productivity,” but for me, and I assume for you as well, it’s more about taking back some control from those tasks which feel like they take us away from the things that we feel really matter.
An attitude of gratitude helps me with this concept. “I’m grateful I have clothes to wash, hot water to wash them with and sunshine to dry them in.” “I’m grateful I have the strength to carry the wood inside so I can light a fire and be warm.” It all boils down to mindful intention. Choosing to focus on the positives rather than the negatives in any situation. It’s all mindset.
Really loved the empathy mixed with the practical reminder in this post <3
It really shows how we choose to think about an activity can really help reframe it. A lot of times we do tell ourselves that we will be happy when... xyz happens. But I find what typically happens is once we've achieved that goal the goalpost has already been moved- without celebration. I (try) to remember that (in most cases, I dont want to overgeneralize) joy is like a faucet. I can choose to turn the happiness tap whenever I want to.
Nice. Really like, “What would David have given to be caught in this traffic jam?”. Reminds me of the ridiculously miraculous life I have. Everything, every moment requires me being here to be witness to it. I get to experience it all. I do my best to stay lucid enough to remember my little life is short. Thanks Aidan
Great points throughout. Especially striking to me is the contrast between this mindset and our culture of instant gratification. It's much easier to open our phones and get a hit of dopamine than it is to do the boring, and/or difficult, but necessary things. Without embracing mundanity, however, those things never get done and we always pay, with the price tag increasing along with our neglect. It detracts from our mental hygiene, rendering us less patient and less apt to construct routines that truly serve us. The small processes we hate committing time to are the foundation on which legitimate accomplishments are built. It can be difficult to see past the many distractions in front of us, but this newsletter is a great tool in helping its readers along the way.
'...we’re not engaging with those obligations, responsibilities, and commitments with intention...'
Doing things with intention, even our daily obligations/chores, really does inject more meaning, purpose, and drive into such activities. The trick is to cultivate that type of mindset through consistent practice.
Ive been using Substack more often and your stuff has been on my feed, but this one was really prescient for me and got my sub!
Im a new dad and trying to balance my own selfish desire for free time amidst the chores of daily life, work, and extended family things has been wildly frustrating at times. Your proverb was a refreshing reminder about moments.
Moments and time dont really seem to change: the contents of them do. Each moves by fleetingly and when we realize moments are all we have; then all there is to do is capture each one as fully as we can. Changing to this perspective has allowed me, albeit not perfectly, to shift my mood in those "trenches" tasks to really derive some level of joy from them rather than angsty attitudes about moving on to the next thing "I" want to do. It's revealed a lot of my selfishness, which is good to lay bare to work through.
Some of the "moment" blurbs from the Waking Up app have also given some useful thoughts. There was one about how we can choose to think about our experiences and being happy doesnt really require any specific, sufficient reasoning beyond we're still alive. Another was about avoiding. We're always avoiding or procrastinating some action but it's better to give that thing our fullest attention in experience.
And thank you for reading! I think those are some great insights. It reminds me of the differences in the ways that people perceive time (it passing by you vs you moving through it) which I think might have an effect on the way that we perceive what it looks like to really “capture” a moment.
This is a great reminder, thank you for the nudge to pause and be mindful. Over the years I’ve become more and more in love with the mundane after a personal health crisis. Rather than “I have to do” I try and say “I GET to do”.
Exactly!! 😌
Yes, I like that. I GET to go to the grocery store again because I forgot the cheese. I GET to answer all these emails (okay, that one is gonna take some time!).
Yes, I like that. I GET to go to the grocery store again because I forgot the cheese. I GET to answer all these emails (okay, that one is gonna take some time!).
Reminds me of something I use: Instead of “I have to” I’ll shift the attitude to “I get to”, recognizing the fact I’m *able* to wash the dishes (and have clean dishes) and that I have dishes at all to begin with, for example.
I really like your magic wand thought experiment. Reminds us that the way we mentally relate to what happens is always a choice. Resistance isn’t just futile, it’s pointless really. It’s like adding dirt as a topping on our bowl of ice cream… LOL
I like the visual at the end LOL, it’s funny because it makes sense
Yes, I like that. I GET to go to the grocery store again because I forgot the cheese. I GET to answer all these emails (okay, that one is gonna take some time!).
😆🙏🏻🧡
LOL
I love the synchronicity this reflects to my own life. I had a thought doing laundry last week. As I picked up my backet of clothes I thought to myself - this task is one that requires a certain level of exertion, one that not all people can do. A loved one is going though cancer treatments and needs a hip replacement and even laundry is difficult. It's humbling to realize how many things I take for granted. But then stress creeps in and I'm just trying to get through the week, forgetting the lessons. Thanks for the reminder.
Oh, don’t you worry. Even after writing all these posts on philosophical takes myself, I still have a bad habit of forgetting to apply the takeaways. It can be difficult for these things to actually sink in.
Hey thanks for saying that. That helps!
This post really made me think in a different way. I have lost too many friends this year and doing the mundane things will be blessings because I can still do them and my friends can't. They would probably be very happy to have the chance to empty the dishwasher again. I sent this writing on to a friend who needs to be grateful for the ability to little chores now that she's 80 years old.
I’m really sorry to hear about the losses. I lost my father this year so I can empathize with how you’re feeling.
And thank you for sharing. Hopefully these words can do some good.
This is a lovely piece. Being present is simple but not an easy practice. Great reminder of “Enjoying the task for the task’s sake”. Thank you 🙏
Thanks for reading :)
I find joy in weeding. It’s my least favourite job on my allotment but it allows my mind to wander due to the repetitive nature of it. Then there is the satisfaction of a job well done when I have completed it. Joy can be found in the most mundane of things so thank you for the reminder
That reminds me of how I feel about dishes. And I've also heard that this whole phenomenon is why "shower thoughts" are a thing at all, hahaha
🙈😂 now re-reading my comment with shower in mind 🙈
I have gotten to a point where I am able to use the mundane to sort things in my mind that need sorting. I am disabled and there are lots of things I'm unable to do some days and so often I'm grateful I can do the mundane things.
I think that's a great way of looking at it :)
Interesting - and not at all coincidental - that tasks like wood chopping and dishwashing and others of this ilk are all non-phone/internet/electronic-based.
There is obvious value in being "connected," but there's an equal, and perhaps greater, value in allowing ourselves time for disconnection. If we embrace those water carrying times, perhaps we can better practice that contentment.
I really couldn't agree more. I think the more stimulating the task, including just about anything involving the internet, the less of any of this really applies. You hit the nail on the head.
Was just reflecting on how much time I spend doing chores around the house (because we can't afford a house cleaner), and how much I hate it. Personally, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen (cooking and cleaning), and it's obligation I can never escape. However, I also spend a lot of time writing, thinking, and thinking about what I need to write and when I need a break but don't want to go for a walk or workout, or whatever, I turn on a podcast and clean the kitchen. It's a healthy timeout – a meditation, if you will, so I can get back to the work that matters. It makes me feel a small sense of accomplishment when I'm stuck on wording loftier matters.
I know what you mean. I feel like that sort of multitasking often gets misbranded as a sort of wrestling match with “productivity,” but for me, and I assume for you as well, it’s more about taking back some control from those tasks which feel like they take us away from the things that we feel really matter.
An attitude of gratitude helps me with this concept. “I’m grateful I have clothes to wash, hot water to wash them with and sunshine to dry them in.” “I’m grateful I have the strength to carry the wood inside so I can light a fire and be warm.” It all boils down to mindful intention. Choosing to focus on the positives rather than the negatives in any situation. It’s all mindset.
Truly beautiful sentiments, great writing! I’m in :) thank you!
And thank you for reading 🥰
Really loved the empathy mixed with the practical reminder in this post <3
It really shows how we choose to think about an activity can really help reframe it. A lot of times we do tell ourselves that we will be happy when... xyz happens. But I find what typically happens is once we've achieved that goal the goalpost has already been moved- without celebration. I (try) to remember that (in most cases, I dont want to overgeneralize) joy is like a faucet. I can choose to turn the happiness tap whenever I want to.
Love the analogy. Definitely think you're on to something there 😌
Nice. Really like, “What would David have given to be caught in this traffic jam?”. Reminds me of the ridiculously miraculous life I have. Everything, every moment requires me being here to be witness to it. I get to experience it all. I do my best to stay lucid enough to remember my little life is short. Thanks Aidan
And thank you for reading. If there’s one feeling I hope to give people in my work, it’s that. Have a great day!
Great points throughout. Especially striking to me is the contrast between this mindset and our culture of instant gratification. It's much easier to open our phones and get a hit of dopamine than it is to do the boring, and/or difficult, but necessary things. Without embracing mundanity, however, those things never get done and we always pay, with the price tag increasing along with our neglect. It detracts from our mental hygiene, rendering us less patient and less apt to construct routines that truly serve us. The small processes we hate committing time to are the foundation on which legitimate accomplishments are built. It can be difficult to see past the many distractions in front of us, but this newsletter is a great tool in helping its readers along the way.
I appreciate you saying that. I do hope it can be a resource for people in that place. Thank you so much for reading ♥️
'...we’re not engaging with those obligations, responsibilities, and commitments with intention...'
Doing things with intention, even our daily obligations/chores, really does inject more meaning, purpose, and drive into such activities. The trick is to cultivate that type of mindset through consistent practice.
I agree with your points, Aidan.
Ive been using Substack more often and your stuff has been on my feed, but this one was really prescient for me and got my sub!
Im a new dad and trying to balance my own selfish desire for free time amidst the chores of daily life, work, and extended family things has been wildly frustrating at times. Your proverb was a refreshing reminder about moments.
Moments and time dont really seem to change: the contents of them do. Each moves by fleetingly and when we realize moments are all we have; then all there is to do is capture each one as fully as we can. Changing to this perspective has allowed me, albeit not perfectly, to shift my mood in those "trenches" tasks to really derive some level of joy from them rather than angsty attitudes about moving on to the next thing "I" want to do. It's revealed a lot of my selfishness, which is good to lay bare to work through.
Some of the "moment" blurbs from the Waking Up app have also given some useful thoughts. There was one about how we can choose to think about our experiences and being happy doesnt really require any specific, sufficient reasoning beyond we're still alive. Another was about avoiding. We're always avoiding or procrastinating some action but it's better to give that thing our fullest attention in experience.
Thanks for writing!
And thank you for reading! I think those are some great insights. It reminds me of the differences in the ways that people perceive time (it passing by you vs you moving through it) which I think might have an effect on the way that we perceive what it looks like to really “capture” a moment.
Have a great day!