Chaos

My sofa's in the kitchen today. I have boxes everywhere and a fine veil of drywall dust is beginning to settle on top of everything. My kitchen remodel has begun! The sofa moved into the kitchen two days ago to allow for the floor in the adjacent family room to be redone. The major chaos will begin this weekend, when we rip out all of the old cabinets. As I was stumbling around this morning looking for something but unsure of where it's currently located, it occurred to me how amazing it is that this household in chaos does not feel crazy to me. Typically, I'm annoyed with just a few piles of toys or desk papers lying around. Why then, does this situation, with the entire first floor of my home being boxed up and temporarily moved out feel OK? I realize why; it's because I'm focusing on the end result. I've been dreaming about this remodel from the day we moved in six years ago. I know that enduring the next six weeks will result in an amazing transformation that I've been hoping for for so long. I also think, that why I normally feel so frustrated with the endless task of cleaning up piles of stuff around my house is that it is just that--endless. The monotony of daily household tasks isn't really fun or motivating for me, as I'm sure many people would agree. Try as I might, I'm unable to have a "Zen" moment while doing the dishes. It's so curious to me that this is another example of a situation where I feel totally differently about the situation "house in chaos" because I know where it's going--to something better, something finite, instead of nowhere and endless. I think this is somewhat like what can happen in therapy: you feel that your problem has gone on and on with no hope for change or an end in sight. The therapist, who has an outside perspective on the situation can provide helpful insight into what you CAN do to solve the problem, or cope with it in a new or different way. Not that therapy can get everyone to the "Zen" place while scrubbing the kitchen sink, but it will help you identify and change what you can.

Comments

  1. Tranquil WeederSeptember 1, 2009 at 6:54 PM

    If you figure out how to have that "Zen moment" doing dished, please let me know!

    ReplyDelete

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