Mindfulness: You’re Soaking
In It!
by Maya Frost
Looking for a bit more mindfulness
in your daily life? Relax. You're soaking in it!
Perhaps you remember Madge the Manicurist,
a television commercial character who commiserates
with her clients about their chapped hands. While
she is filing the nails of one hand, she conspiratorially
confides that her client is actually soaking her other
hand in Palmolive dishwashing liquid. After all, "It
softens hands while you do the dishes."
It was a memorable pitch—good
visual, element of surprise, great what-it-will-do-for-you
line. That commercial, in several variations, ran
for nearly thirty years. Jan Miner, the actress who
played Madge, died a few years agoat the age of
86, but her persona lives on.
Softening hands is
nice, but here's a better idea: how about softening
our hearts while we do the dishes?
Seriously. There's not a lot
of multitasking you can do when you're elbow-deep
in suds. Singing works, but your dance moves are
a bit limited. You can talk on the phone using a headset, but let's hope you can disconnect for the few
minutes it takes to clean up after a meal.
Given free rein, our minds
tend to go into worry mode. We're likely to spin our
stories, get locked into our beliefs, or ponder our
personal list of things to do.
What if we got intentional
about that time spent at the sink? Take advantage
of the task and use those soapy bubbles as a trigger
to be mindful.
Here's how to do it:
1) Whenever you touch your
bottle of Palmolive (or any other brand) dishwashing
liquid, simply say to yourself, "Soften
your heart."
2) Before you can soften your
heart, you've got to cleanse it of anger, frustration,
or resistance. So, when you squirt that first blob
of colorful liquid soap, say "Cleanse."
3) As you wipe your dishes,
swab your glasses, and scrub your pans, focus
on the act of each stroke, every circular
caress, and the repetitive and rhythmic series of
motions. Scrub, rinse, drain, repeat.
4) Visualize the scouring
of your heart, scrubbing the crusty residue
of your overcooked stew of negative emotions and thoughts.
Watch as your heart becomes pure again, sparkling
clean and ready for the world.
We often get stuck in thinking that mindfulness is
something we can develop only if we sit in meditation
on a regular basis. Meditation is powerful, but so
is the purposeful awareness cultivated in the most
mundane moments throughout the day.
You won't miss the thoughts
you would've had while doing dishes, but you will
definitely benefit from the focused attention on your
heart and this remarkably simple way to restore equilibrium.
Madge the Manicurist encouraged
us to soak in order to soften. By taking it one step
further, you can ease into your dishwashing task with
intention and emerge with a sense of lightness—as
well as gleaming dishes.
Think of it as mindful multitasking, and scrub your
way to a more balanced day.
Pass the sponge.
