CHORE OR GIFT?
Is life a chore or a gift?
In meditative reflection, I became aware of this subtle underlying belief that “Life is a chore.” Even the things that I LOVE to do can be experienced as chores at times. I recognized that this was related to a story that whatever I was doing was somehow taking me away from something more important...but what was that crucial thing?
The beauty of Somatic Work is that it runs on curiosity. Rather than simply believing this feeling “Everything is a chore” or continuing that dance unconsciously for perpetuity, once you recognize a pattern you learn to get really curious. Without judgment you may start to ask, “hmmm, fascinating, what is going on here? Where did I learn this? Isn’t it interesting that I have this attitude towards just about everything... There must be something juicy here.”
So obviously having this attitude about everything will limit the enjoyment and increase avoidance of whatever I do. The impulse is to get rid of it, right? Not so fast... as one of my mentors always asks with gleeful enthusiasm, “What’s RIGHT about holding this belief?” “What purpose does it serve?” "Where did you learn this” and “is it true”…"Can you know that it is absolutely true?”
Is everything in life a chore? As I sat with this question, I could sense how this belief was seeded inside me so long ago, I can trace it back to watching the adults around me growing up, complaining and exhausted from the grind of daily life. I also realize that this belief is not fundamentally true. I think of the people I most respect and admire, people I am drawn to and inspired by…they are the people who treat life as a gift. The people who rejoice in the simple capacity of their hands to wash and prepare food, who beam gratitude for the ability to go to work, to have a warm place to rest at night, to pick their sleeping kids up and carry them inside from the car…
I also notice that I feel like “the things” are taking away from me when I feel I cannot be true to myself while doing them. I get curious about how to engage with “the things” not from a place of resentful duty, but from a place of mindful awareness, authenticity, curiosity and maybe even play. Rather than focusing so much on the WHAT of what I am doing, I start to get curious about the HOW. I start to question the story that I can't be my authentic self while doing the to-do list. As I acknowledge the old beliefs and fears, I am led into an awareness of deeper needs and offered a choice.
If THIS is more true, or at least a possibility of an alternate attitude in life, can I cultivate this? Noticing the difference I would feel when in one energy (Life is a chore) vs. the opposite (Life is a gift) where do I want to spend my time and once recognized can I have the strength and courage to choose it time and time again?
What about for you? How are you engaging the tasks of daily life? Here is an invitation to engage your curiosity about how you approach tasks and perhaps try on some new methods as experiments. Remember that creating new patterns takes time, like growing a garden it requires tending, consistency, love, and patience, yet it is completely POSSIBLE.