"Sometimes we would question our teachers: "Isn't dirt as holy as clean?" "Isn't sound as sacred as silence?" And they would explain: "We don't clean in order to clean. It is a way of practicing respect for things. More simply, it is a way for us to spend time together, and spending time together, we realize our interconnectedness, Outherwise we take things for granted."

"When we clean we begin to appreciate how things are there for us, supporting us, encouraging us, and when we appreciate things we appreciate ourselves and one another. So to respect the floor or the ground is to respect ourselves. This is how we develop intimacy and connection. Although everything is one, you will not understand what that means unless you practice it. When you clean, you experience the oneness. You relaize everything is helping you."

"Not concerning yourself with the care of things may, on the surface, seem to be desirable but, in this context, it is considered lazy and self-centered, as if you are trying to exist apart from things. That's one of the reasons you feel disconnected and unsupported."

~Sweeping Changes Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks
by Gary Thorpe


I've been reading this thread on AOS with much interest… I just spun around in my desk chair looking at my room only to find packing bins everywhere, nothing on the walls, plaster that needs sanding, walls that need painting and general disorder… I walk out of my rooms to find the rest of the house in the same state… selling a house of 32 years and moving five states away … what a dream time for me as a service slave! I revel in making lists and keeping things on track… I really do appreciate what Gary Thorpe says about the respect of the things … the walls the floors… the ceilings… they are there for us… for my protection and security… so my taking the time to patch and repaint serves to give back to them for what they do for me… what a great base for my service orientation!



Thank you for posting this slave lara!