Ecstasy and Laundry

A Zen koan reveals, "After the ecstasy, the laundry." It refers to how to return to life after a period of meditation or enlightenment.  I think about it during my laundry chores. I'd like a thrill after hard work. Get the tedium over, then the fun begins.

Writing, running and photographing nature create my ecstacy.  No joy exists for house maintenance. I prefer studying and reveling in nature rather than re-arranging dust.


Ecstacy finds me easy prey but it doesn't motivate the urge to do laundry.  Why not stuff everything in one load and be done?

No thrills during the separation of whites and color 

items, synthetics and towels.

Nothing stirs from a sniff of detergent; no images of flower fields.  

Let the machines tumble and twirl in their ecstasy.

During my morning run I continue to consider the arrangement of ecstasy and laundry. The wind tickles my ears as the flow engages.

Watching sea birds, a sensation of flight takes over. Upon returning home no eagerness for laundry sparks.

A writing project beckons from the darkness of my computer. I put in a load of towels and start expressing a forgotten idea.

Hmm, I feel a shift from words to laundry.

Folding warm towels and smoothing the corners provides a sense of calm. Aha! my last load splays in colors on the floor. Time to combine whites, colors, synthetics. Now, that's "one hand clapping."

Creative Write:  What creates ecstasy in your life?  Write about it and how it affects the chores that follow.