Can doing dishes make your soul smile?

Colleagues,

​I am hesitant to admit it here, but life has been a struggle over the past 10 months. There are lots of reasons, but no need to enumerate them as we have all been living through multiple traumas at individual, family, and society levels. It isn’t that I am depressed, it is more a feeling of emptiness.
 
I keep reflecting and interrogating my feelings, but it doesn’t seem to help.
 
So for now, I do the only thing I can think of – put one foot in front of the other and take the next step.
 
Immediately before writing this I was doing the dishes. There was this moment in which I was completely focused on wiping out a pan. I watched the sponge and the water, the bubbles skating around, and I felt the comfortable warmth of the water bathing my hands.
 
For this brief moment, I was content.
 
I was fully present with that pan, and that presence brought a measure of joy.
 
Today, throughout my day, I am going to work hard to be in every moment. I will feel the drumming of the shower on my shoulders, I will smell the aroma of my coffee, and I will focus completely on the people I coach.
 
Being present will not transform my life or banish my struggles, but it will bring me moments of joy and contentment, and that is good.
 
Being fully present will also be a blessing to others, and that is even better.
 
Slow down, just a bit, and be present today. 
 
If today’s message resonates with you, please hit reply and let me know. It would help my soul smile.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick