Cup

I know I need to get out more.  I do the washing up these days.  I am not talking about getting out more to avoid the washing up.  It was basically just a way of saying my life revolves around pretty ordinary things.  To some they may be ho hum, but to others (myself included) they are the stuff of life. 
Merril prepares something sumptuous, and the washing up is mine.  While Merril is working, I do nothing.  Then when I am working, it is often reversed.  How is that fair?  Shouldn’t everyone be working when I am working?  I never do the washing up straight away.  I always let it mature overnight.
Not that I was always a washerupera.  In my previous place there was someone who leapt up immediately and washed up.  Hey, who was I to get in the way? As much as I wanted to (and if you believe that, you will believe anything) I let them do it.
I have found there are nuggets to be found in everyday activities if only I look.  I don’t mean literal nuggets, as if there were, I would probably be the first to volunteer to do the washing up every time.
Today I was washing up as per normal.  It is sad really, but I have everything laid out and it all goes in its place.  I have thought of writing a book called “Zen and the Art of Washing Up.”  But no.  Thinking is less effort than doing.
I was washing my cup.  It needed to be cleaned both inside and out.  It got me thinking.  I am a bit like that. The outside maybe as good as it gets.  All sparkly and shiny.  I have been told I come up alright with a scrub.  Inside could be a different story though.  It may need a good scrub.  I use steel wool (for washing up – not on myself – though I’m so tough, that mistake could easily be made).  Sometimes cleaning requires elbow grease.
What matters most is how I am on the inside.  Just living may have attracted dirt and grime.  I never set out to make my cup dirty.  It just gets that way, whether I like it or not.  Actually, I never like it, because it means cleaning.  It could also be there is inground dirt that is harder to remove.  We notice that with some of the containers we put left overs in.  The food stains the container, and it requires real effort to remove.  Some decisions I make have undesirable consequences.  It doesn’t matter that I don’t realize it.  They just do.  They say, “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”  I guess I could say “ignorance concerning an action does not negate its consequence.”   It is probably why they say “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”  Cleaning is safe.
Naturally, I could choose never to clean the cup.  The trouble with that is, stuff gets thicker and thicker until the cup can no longer be used as a cup.  It is no longer fit for purpose.  I never cleaned my cup at work.  I figured that way no one would ever want to steal it.  It was never stolen.
Ok, I am not talking about being dropped into a war zone, or the savage tribe I encountered in the jungle.  It is washing up.    I do believe though, there are lessons to be learned from the most mundane things, if I look.