Ecstasy and Laundry

There's a Zen koan, "After ecstasy the laundry."  I've pondered it for years.  Doesn't everyone need a thrill after hard work? Why not enjoy the epipany following the process?

Consider the notion of "eat what you don't like first."  Get the tedium over, then the fun begins!









If the koan promotes eat dessert first one might become too full for the meal. Because koans function to promote concentration rather than answers, I continue to focus on processing the notions of ecstasy and laundry.

I prefer to play, run or write. Photographing nature and using my senses create my ecstacy.  Any domestic identity dwells in the fact that I live in a house. No claim to a connection with "home maker" or "house wife" for  me. I'd rather be outside studying and reveling in nature.

Re-arranging dust does not provide a thrill. If anything, making a bed stirs a minor satisfaction when tucking corners and smoothing sheets. If an Ahhh happens when the spread goes on and the pillows plump at the headboard, now I can go outside and play.

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

No thrills for me 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 a drawer. I put in a load of towels and start expressing a forgotten idea.  Hmmmm, maybe a shift has happened?

Now, should I consider "one hand clapping" ?

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