43things TEAM PROJECT: embrace housework as a spiritual practice

I started sweeping and mopping the floor more regularly, now that the baby is three months old and I have started giving him “floor time” on his stomach, so he gets strong enough to hold his head and lift himself on his little arms. So from now on I’ll be seeing this task as a service to my son, for his benefit and health.

Around the time my son was born, the dryer was out of gas, so for the first two weeks after arriving from the hospital I couldn’t wash any clothes. Day after day I watched with quiet desperation as the mountain of laundry grew and I couldn’t do anything about it.

When my husband finally bought the gas and installed the cylinder, I started washing my laundry as soon as I could. I felt so relieved, and even more surprising, happy. I felt happy just washing our laundry, and in that moment I understood that doing the laundry had become an indelible part of my routine. I understood that it feels just the same as it feels to resume a spiritual practice you had neglected.

Tonight while my DH was watching the movie “Troy” on tv I was ironing his hankies… I’m not sure, but I think it took me about half an hour to iron all of them. A couple of times he looked my way, in silence, and just stared, with this dreamy look on his face… I love those moments, they’re really special. I just smiled and kept on ironing.

This is a wonderful book that presents different spiritual perspectives on the art of keeping house. It has been very inspiring and I encourage anyone with this goal to peruse through it, and get some inspiration too.

This has to do with the epiphany, so to speak, I’ve had with the FLYlady system… Instead of seeing house chores as just chores and drudgery, I’m starting to see housework as an opportunity to show gratitude for all the blessings I have in my life… Since a couple of years ago I’ve been feeling the need to express gratitude in my life, and this is a great way to do it.