I can mop your floor but I can't help you
Some of you might have heard me say that I love to mop the yoga studio floor. This is almost always followed by the comment by one of you that I should come and mop your floors at home while I'm loving it. Heehee. You see, I can but I can't.
Why do I love to mop the floor?
[1] It is something that deflates any inflated ego. When I started teaching yoga at OmIm, it was like, "Wow! look at me! look at me! I'm king of the world, woohoo! I'm a guru. Guru! Guru! Guru! Woohoo!". . .then the floor gets dusty, your feet get dirty and its time for the great guru to get the mop and bucket and start cleaning up after her students. It is a constant reality check and reminder that being a king of the your world means that you are the one who gets pick up after everyone and to take out all the trash too. I appreciate the floor for keeping me grounded.
[2] When I am mopping, there is only the mopping. It is therapeutic. IT is meditation. When I am mopping, I becoming the mopping and stop being the ego Sau Fen for a while. I become the task at hand completely and it is frankly a relief to take a vacation from being Sau Fen for a while. There are no worries, no fantasies, no plans, no illusions. Ahhhh...
[3] Come hell, high water, fair weather, I have to mop. When I am tired from teaching, I still have to mop; when I am energetic and keen to start training, I still have to mop; when I am sick or injured, I still have to mop; when I am happy or sad, I still have to mop, etc. Like breathing, mopping helps to maintain a constant awareness and equanimity -- helps me to transcend the highs and lows of life and stay centred. It also is a reminder that self cultivation is a constant, unending job. What I do notice is that if for whatever reason I miss out on mopping for a while, the floor becomes harder to clean the next time I mop. This means that frequent and constant maintenance makes easier maintenance. The same can be said of the self.
[4] I cannot mop your floor -- what? Deprive you of the same spiritual cultivation? How can I do that? ;-)
Why do I love to mop the floor?
[1] It is something that deflates any inflated ego. When I started teaching yoga at OmIm, it was like, "Wow! look at me! look at me! I'm king of the world, woohoo! I'm a guru. Guru! Guru! Guru! Woohoo!". . .then the floor gets dusty, your feet get dirty and its time for the great guru to get the mop and bucket and start cleaning up after her students. It is a constant reality check and reminder that being a king of the your world means that you are the one who gets pick up after everyone and to take out all the trash too. I appreciate the floor for keeping me grounded.
[2] When I am mopping, there is only the mopping. It is therapeutic. IT is meditation. When I am mopping, I becoming the mopping and stop being the ego Sau Fen for a while. I become the task at hand completely and it is frankly a relief to take a vacation from being Sau Fen for a while. There are no worries, no fantasies, no plans, no illusions. Ahhhh...
[3] Come hell, high water, fair weather, I have to mop. When I am tired from teaching, I still have to mop; when I am energetic and keen to start training, I still have to mop; when I am sick or injured, I still have to mop; when I am happy or sad, I still have to mop, etc. Like breathing, mopping helps to maintain a constant awareness and equanimity -- helps me to transcend the highs and lows of life and stay centred. It also is a reminder that self cultivation is a constant, unending job. What I do notice is that if for whatever reason I miss out on mopping for a while, the floor becomes harder to clean the next time I mop. This means that frequent and constant maintenance makes easier maintenance. The same can be said of the self.
[4] I cannot mop your floor -- what? Deprive you of the same spiritual cultivation? How can I do that? ;-)
