Vacuuming is something I do about twice a week – usually right before company shows up. It’s one of those chores that I can “half” pay attention to; that is, I need to pay attention to what’s actually on the floor so that I don’t suck up small toys, change and hair ties into the machine, but other than that, my mind can – and does – wander.
Recently I’ve set out to see what happens if I treat vacuuming as a “sacred practice.”
What if I recognize that cleaning my home can be used as a time for “cleansing my soul” or at the very least, for observing my own thoughts, noting whether or not they need cleaning as well?
Practicing the Presence means being mindful of this very moment. It means listening to that still small voice within and NOT allowing mindless chatter. As I focus on the task at hand and remember that it’s all God in expression, I create a sense of peace instead of the turbulence that’s so often swirling inside my mind. I release the need to worry about the past or the future; I simply appreciate this very moment and everything contained and expressed in it.
I don’t have to find any flowers to “stop and smell the roses,” so to speak. Looking around my house, I’m reminded that I love my home and my furnishings! I am blessed to have the physical strength and stamina to run a vacuum cleaner through every room. I am grateful for electricity and well-made machines that make my tasks easier. I put the “Spiritual” into my physical labor and I am humbled by a greater realization of who and what I am.
I am that I Am. Right here, right now, I am practicing the Presence by living mindfully, gracefully and in gratitude. Even when I vacuum.
