The thief left it behind: the moon at my window - Ryokan

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Right Thinking


Awen just loves cleaning,' my daughter, Gra-anna, told me with a big smile.

I watched three year old Awen with his cloth. Busy, busy wiping the floor, then shining it. When he was done he looked around purposefully to see where he could go next with his cleaning cloth.

My grandson was playing. He was playing, 'cleaning, cleaning'. If there was a spill so much the better, Awen was at it in a flash. When we finished our meal, Awen toddled off to the sink with his plate and on tippy toes, rinsed off his plate, after each meal. Happy as can be. That was 4 years ago, but the memory glows brightly in my heart.

When I partook in my yoga teacher training course, I learned about Karma Yoga. We were on a karma yoga roster for things like cleaning the dishes. I used these moments to learn to see the 'mundane' as sacred.

I was walking down the path a moment ago, going to fetch my son, Neville from school, when I suddenly remembered Awen cleaning and it all came together.

What is the attitude of play? When Awen was cleaning, he was very busy doing the work of a child which is to play. Do you remember the head space of playing? This is the way all things need to be approached, isn't it?

4 comments:

Art and Poetry said...

I agree! and it is a nice story about your grandson. The link about Karma Yoga and the Bhagavad Gita is good also.

HummingBird said...

thank you for the visit
Karma yoga is interesting, isn't it?

Gilbamar said...

My grandson had a story like this, he was as somebody thinking always about how life could be better.

I really liked Karma yoga.

Thanks for following me, Hummingbird, made me happy having a nice friend as you. I will follow your blog also becouse I like it very much.

Do you already know Brasil? It is a beatyful country. What about yours?

God bless you and your family.

HummingBird said...

Thank you Gilbamar for your kind words and for sharing. I have not yet had the opportunity to visit your beautiful country. I hope I will one day! My country, South Africa, is wonderful in many ways.