Rather than meditate or go to a spa,
I've been spending the last few days
ironing. For me there's little quite as
purifying as transforming a wrinkled
mass into a perfectly pressed dream.
Suddenly all is right with the world.
If only we could morph life's pressing
situations in the same way. Imagine
all the people who irk us tidily stacked
and tied with grosgrain ribbons in one's
linen closet. If only people would do
what we wanted them to do. But in
truth, the problem is you... not them.
Winter brings a sense of solace here
in rural Montana. With over two feet
of snow on the ground our white out
is beyond beautiful. Yet it's a mess to
plow through it all. Hence I've stayed
fairly close to home. While there's a
possibility of cabin fever in my near
future, for now the luxury... yes the
luxury... of focusing on only what
matters to me is wildly decadent. My
sense of accomplishment is beyond
addictive. I can't seem to get enough
of checking off my to do list!
What have I accomplished? Little to
nothing of any true value. Mounds of
dirty linen left from the holidays are
now finally gone. Leaving me with a
privileged pride that rivals someone
who just climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
I'm cooking dinner every night yet
again, the joy of a job well done is as
satisfying dinner at Le Grenouille. At
the moment I don't miss Manhattan.
And while I occasionally desire things
I can't find in town, I know they are
waiting for me on eBay. All is good.
Now that the great wall of china is up
I'm finally able to survey my kingdom.
Some of the missing bits and pieces of
said mass remind me that the search is
never over. Most sets are complete but
several are still works in progress. For
a year I've been watching and waiting
to complete a set of cobalt goblets. All
of a sudden my dream appeared in Iowa.
Last week, those three lost lambs came
home to Poppa! Better yet, my dreams
came true for fifteen dollars. Even in the
dead of winter, there's thrill in the kill!
They say don't sweat the small stuff.
However completing minuscule tasks
can deliver a herculean high. I have
a list of things to accomplish over the
next few months. None are important
yet their amalgam upon completion
will deliver a sense of satisfaction.
For most of my life things looked fine
on the surface. But open a drawer or
closet and you would realize just how
frenzied my existence truly was. For
the first time in life I'm able to literally
cleaning up my act shelf by shelf!
The ultimate luxury is that I'm in no rush
to do much of anything. While time may
be fleeting, I prefer to sit at home while
it's sleeting. Hence I'm enjoying my coma
of complacency. And while I'm certain
that ultimately the routine of loading and
unloading the dishwasher may become
mundane, for now it's beyond a glorious
diversion. Proof that the little things in
life may actually be more important. It
isn't what one does that's important. It's
how one savors the experience of doing
whatever it takes to get the job done.
