Peace Among the Soapsuds

I read a story once about a person who paid several hundred dollars to attend a day long workshop on meditation. The workshop was a distance away, and so he left early to allow enough time to arrive on time.

Turns out he was early, and when he walked in the door, he was asked if he could help in the kitchen as whoever had been scheduled had taken ill and wouldn’t be able to attend.

And so he began washing pots and pans and dishes, and helping to prepare the food that would be served that day. Every time he tried to leave so that he could attend the workshop, he was asked if he could do just a bit more. And so he did just a bit more. And a bit more. And a bit more.

And then the workshop was over, and there he was, washing the final dishes and pots and pans as the rest of the attendees filed out, got in their cars and drove off.

For a moment he was angry: he’d driven all this way and paid all this money for a workshop on meditation and…. then suddenly he was smiling. He realized that he gotten everything he’d paid for, and more. He’d found peace among the soapsuds and pots and pans, presence in the slicing of carrots, and a joyful gratitude in the ability to perform a service that had benefitted so many.

Recognizing that we cannot be separate from the one infinite God, we can bring that knowing to the many tasks that make up a day, to the many conversations, to the many interactions. And as we choose to do this, to live in this manner, we learn that we are always in service to something greater than ourselves, and this practice allows us to become a conduit for a fuller expression of the divine in our lives.

Like the gentleman in the story, we get everything we “pay” for…. And more.