It is an age old clichet, house chores are boring and dishwashing is certainly a prime example of it. To many, the mere thought of it, will trigger the most creative plans to avoid, postpone and, if successful, delegate. It's a greasy operation unworthy of a modern evolved citizen. Time is precious and washing dishes, discard of food remains or meal stains, seems a torturous way to use our precious minutes on. And so, at the root of many dishwashing product ads, lays the premise of turning a boring, tedious and messy operation into a magical and effortless experience. Not surprisingly, sprinkles, fairies and "magic wands" abound in these soothing corporate lullabies.  

Growing up, both privilege and education prevented me from going into dishwashing. That was a problem solved by others, to which i barely wasted any thought well into my teens. The first contact, through camping, was, as expected, anything but enthusiastic. One of those things, one learns that is an unavoidable burden of life, but that in camping is paramount in order to prevent ants, mosquitoes or other food predators.

Anyway, i was well in my late teens when i went with a group, to spend some days at a summer house of one of my friends. You know, teenagers playing adults for a few days. We took care of the room, food, cleaning as if we were real responsible adults. I guess, the newness of all of it made it more fun. I must emphasize that, at the time, the gap between male and female house keeping knoweldge was, unsurpisingly,  dramatic. 

One day, i woked early and found all the dishes pilling up from the previous night dinner. It was a long time ago, so, there was probably another reason for all those dishes. Case in point, the scenario was a kitchen with a lot of dishwashing to be done. As i recall it, i had my morning coffee, a cigrarrete and i reached the stereo to put some music on. I then proceed it to dive fully into the task but, instead of mindlessly just get it done, i remembered i was in no rush, i took my time organizing the cutlery and dishes in some sort of washing list. Right above the sink, there was a small window that revealed mountains and trees as far as i could see. As i remember, it was sunny.

As i progressed in the task, i also felt that i sinked more and more into some sort of trance-like state. I do not know for sure, how long i was at it, but it always seems to me that it was a long time, at least a full hour, uninterrupted. From scrubbing, rinsing and repeating when needed, i started to reflect more profoundly on what i was actually doing. Every movement, the turns of the hands, the water temperature, every object, where i was, what i was doing there. While washing the dishes, i noticed that while they were all alike, different stain patterns had formed, like a memory of the meal. My mind drifted from the task at hand into a metaphysical realm of questions and observations and out in a smooth and free flowing fashion... To this day, i have the impression that in that full hour, i had some sort of mystical experience while dishwashing...  and yes, if it sounds absurdly funny, it's because it is, i certainly share that opinion. And yet, is it not possible?

What i have taken from this experience, call it insight, revelation or serendipity, is that even in the most seemingly irrelevant tasks, one can become aware or entranced by the mysterious plenitudes of life. That each passing moment is as important as the former or the latter. Life happens every moment and in all fields. I am obviously, i hope, expressing it better than i realized it at that time, however, this really made me enjoy dishwashing since then.

It is obviously not the case that, every dishwashing experience is a mystical one and since then, i do not recall having as intense or as memorable experiences. What i came to realize is that it became a sort of meditative exercise routine. I am certainly not a cleaning maniac nor a domestic robot as my office surely reflects. I do not follow strict procedures and schedules. Yet, i am the one doing the dishes most of the time and, most of the times, i end up enjoying those moments. I no longer see dishwashing as cumbersome, i see it as an opportunity for many things besides the task at hand. I can either think on the lessons of the day, train my left hand dexterity or just relax while i am enjoying tidying up the house and prepare for a new day. In some cases it can even be a way to take a break. I confess that on some occasions i even fell like i want to have more dishes to wash. But, maybe that's me ;) I do think there is a lot of value in being able to focus in the present moment (be here now). On the other hand, I guess that from dishwashing, the same can be applied to many, if not all, other tasks.