This morning when I picked up my broom to sweep the kitchen floor, I heard my mother’s presence echo in my mind. I felt a great sense of gratitude for this simple act of sweeping. I can do this. She no longer can. She can’t sweep the floor or wash the dishes or any of the mundane household acts we take for granted. Having suffered a stroke, she can no longer stand. I think if she could stand, she would be excited to sweep because she’d be able to get all the things that others had missed. Sweeping would be a joyful act. I doubt she realized it when she swept the floor for the last time. I wonder if she was mindful of the simple joy of tending to things. That’s how life happens. We experience things and then we realize that the experience is done. Over.
As I gathered the remnants of yesterday, I thought not only of my mother, but of others who no longer walk the earth or sweep the floor. My gratitude expanded as I realized the gift I was experiencing. I considered that I had a home with a floor. And it was located in a beautiful city in an amazing state in an incredible country. I owned it. And I had a broom, a tool to do the job of sweeping. And that my home was filled with the family who created the dirt on the floor. I felt joy for the ability to physically do the job. There have been days in my life when there was no time to sweep…or no energy. Yet today, I was given the time, the energy and the desire. I was given the gift of life.
Sometimes we’re not paying attention. We miss out on our experiences. When we are not mindful, we don’t see the whole picture in all its’ glorious details. And then when the experience is over, we have a vague memory and we wish we could fill it in. The problem is, you’ll never know when the experience is happening for the last time. Until there are no more times. And it will take you a while to realize that. Before it’s too late, remember that there are only so many times, and when they are gone, you will yearn for more.
It has been said, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water”. May you chop wood, carry water and sweep floors for many more days. And may you find joy in the simple acts of living. Every last time.