There are certainly very difficult, painful moments and seasons in one’s life for which we could understand a flight response to be totally reasonable. But seriously, people, standing at a stove, stirring, sauteeing, whatevering can manifest that same flight response in me! Same with laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc.
I am being encouraged by the writings of Henri Nouwen to stand wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, with an attitude of hope and expectancy. To affirm that wherever I am standing (even in front of a stove, a sink, a washer or dryer), something is growing and evolving in me. To be present to the moment, believing that this moment, whatever it contains, is THE moment and not just a get-through-it moment. I’m realizing I’m not a patient person by nature. I need supernatural help to stop expecting the REAL thing to happen somewhere else and to have assurance that something hidden will manifest itself RIGHT WHERE I AM. To dare to stay where I am, not in a passive, throw-in-the-towel kind of way, but in a bold, grab-hold-of-the-moment kind of way, would mean a rich and full life indeed! Even in the midst of cooking!:)
I hope you’ve enjoyed these snippets from this article in Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas. There’s so much more in the article…you really should read the whole thing! Here again is today’s snippet in case my scrawl is illegible:
“A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. The moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay where they are.” (pg. 32)
A good way of looking at life, sometimes we wish our lives away instead of concentrating on what we are now.
I have enjoyed these posts and if I am not careful I can be the same way – wanting to get that “chore” done so I can move on to whatever the important thing is I want to do. I try to practice a mindfulness sense of meditation when doing something domestic. I can too easily be like my mother and approach these domestic responsibilities with anger. Instead I try to remain joyful that I have this house to clean and these people to clean up after and cook for. For a long time I purchased Cheer laundry detergent just to remind myself that doing laundry should be a happy event!
I hear ya. I am not the most patient person either, and I have felt that flight or fight response in trying to get the housework done, something I really have no desire to do. Great sketch and lover reading your thoughts on this subject.