Thoughts While Washing Dishes

Six life lessons

It’s Sunday morning. Time to wash the breakfast dishes. I don’t have a dishwasher, so I do them myself, one at a time, at the kitchen sink. Just dishes for two. The kids moved out years ago. I put on pink rubber gloves, run hot water, add dishwashing liquid, grab a sponge, and begin the task.

The first thing Life brings to my attention is work. Endless work. I release a sigh of slight resentment as I wash the spoons. There is always work to be done. I visualise a nightmarish and never-ending supply of dirty dishes coming at me daily, demanding to be washed, and me at the sink, doing their bidding. But then I recall a scripture I memorised as a child — Proverbs 4:4: Where no oxen are, the trough is clean, but increase comes by the strength of an ox. I don’t own oxen, so I interpret this to mean that if there are no people around, there are no dishes to clean. And nor is there conversation, intimacy, plans, pranks, joy.

The second thing Life brings to my attention is dirt. Dirt is everywhere. It’s stuck on dishes. It’s underfoot, overhead, and inside me. Dirt is a daily aspect of human life, and it’s not going away. Even those who take their inspiration from the serene lotus must remember its roots are buried in mud. That’s where the lotus gets its sustenance — sucking up life-sustaining dirt.

The third thing Life brings to my attention is detergent — something to cut through and soften the grease that coats the pots, so they regain their metallic shine. Sometimes I need the human equivalent of detergent to be gently applied to me, so I shine like I should. Friendly advice. A dose of suffering. A wise book. Time alone. These things cut through and soften the things I coat myself with, like pride, stubbornness, overwhelm, indifference.

The fourth thing Life brings to my attention is water. The kitchen sink is full of it. It also forms 71% of the earth’s surface and 60% of my body. I drink it, wash in it, and watch it rush to shore. Without water, these dishes wouldn’t get rinsed properly, and nor would I. Water symbolises life, emotions and fertility. And it also symbolises the universal grace that washes over me and keeps me afloat in troubling times.

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