Motivation Article
The Zen of Folding Laundry and Other Thoughts on Happiness
I hate folding laundry. So, when I recently had to fold some laundry, I was feeling impatient and irritated. The laundry wasn’t going to fold itself, and I was running out of clothes. Despite my internal protests, it would have to get done. I figured it would only take a few minutes and then I could get back to the more enjoyable parts of my day.
Then it hit me. I was resisting folding the laundry. The whole time I was rolling socks and sorting shirts my mind was elsewhere. Instead of simply accepting that the laundry needed to be done and experiencing that, I was resisting it.
Then I began to wonder. How many other things in life am I resisting instead of accepting and experiencing them?
Resistance is Futile
What do I mean by resistance? I don’t like a lot of spiritual authors because they are unable to break down words into a core concept. Instead they resort to fancy wordplay to dance around an idea that they can’t communicate. I’d like to try to avoid that error here.
Resistance means denying where you are right now. Struggle and challenge to meet a higher goal is an important and honorable part of life. But I’m not talking about resistance against challenges but deceiving yourself at what is happening right now.
Let’s say you want to travel to Paris. You go to book a ticket online. You enter in Paris as the destination, but when it asks for the location of departure, you freeze. You can’t admit to yourself you are where you are. Instead of simply accepting your current location and entering it, you resist.
It sounds silly to think of resisting a physical location. But what about your life situation? I think a lot of people are caught between resisting their current location and seeking out a new one.
A Battle of Paradigms: Be Happy VS Be Successful
Why does this happen? Why should we resist what is, especially when it impairs our ability to go forward? I think the answer lies in a clash
I hate folding laundry. So, when I recently had to fold some laundry, I was feeling impatient and irritated. The laundry wasn’t going to fold itself, and I was running out of clothes. Despite my internal protests, it would have to get done. I figured it would only take a few minutes and then I could get back to the more enjoyable parts of my day.
Then it hit me. I was resisting folding the laundry. The whole time I was rolling socks and sorting shirts my mind was elsewhere. Instead of simply accepting that the laundry needed to be done and experiencing that, I was resisting it.
Then I began to wonder. How many other things in life am I resisting instead of accepting and experiencing them?
Resistance is Futile
What do I mean by resistance? I don’t like a lot of spiritual authors because they are unable to break down words into a core concept. Instead they resort to fancy wordplay to dance around an idea that they can’t communicate. I’d like to try to avoid that error here.
Resistance means denying where you are right now. Struggle and challenge to meet a higher goal is an important and honorable part of life. But I’m not talking about resistance against challenges but deceiving yourself at what is happening right now.
Let’s say you want to travel to Paris. You go to book a ticket online. You enter in Paris as the destination, but when it asks for the location of departure, you freeze. You can’t admit to yourself you are where you are. Instead of simply accepting your current location and entering it, you resist.
It sounds silly to think of resisting a physical location. But what about your life situation? I think a lot of people are caught between resisting their current location and seeking out a new one.
A Battle of Paradigms: Be Happy VS Be Successful
Why does this happen? Why should we resist what is, especially when it impairs our ability to go forward? I think the answer lies in a clash