\u201cBefore enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zen apprentices, or \u201cunsui\u201d monks, spend much of their time cleaning and tidying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sweep dust to remove worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments,\u201d Shoukei Matsumoto, a Buddhist monk living in Kyoto, Japan, wrote in his book \u201cA Monk\u2019s Guide to a Clean House and Mind.\u201d \u201cThe time we spend carefully cleaning out every nook and cranny of the temple grounds is extremely fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Holly Schiff, a clinical psychologist based in Greenwich, Conn., confirms that the process of cleaning can be calming and almost meditative.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely think there is a link between mental health and the act of cleaning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepetitive, physical activities like cleaning can be regulating for the nervous system because they\u2019re predictable, structured, and give a clear sense of completion,\u201d she said. That gives people a feeling of control and grounding.<\/p>\n
Plus, you can immediately see the result of what you\u2019ve done, \u201cwhich can be satisfying in a way that many cognitive or emotional tasks aren\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For those who dread cleaning and find it daunting, it can help to focus on the process rather than on a to-do list.<\/p>\n
Some tips for a more mindful approach to cleaning:<\/p>\n
\u201cFor people who tend to see cleaning as drudgery, I think the shift is less about forcing yourself to enjoy it and more about changing how you engage with it,\u201d Schiff said.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t try to rush through it. Pay attention to the physical movement or its rhythm, or to things like the temperature of the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you slow it down and focus on the sensory aspects of it, it can start to function more like a mindfulness exercise,\u201d Schiff said.<\/p>\n
For some, cleaning can provide an opportunity to free their minds.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy gently tending to your habitat, you allow your mind to naturally settle into a peaceful, unforced clarity,\u201d Matsumoto said.<\/p>\n
Matsumoto said cleaning is a way of caring for yourself and the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our practice, we don\u2019t see cleaning as a chore to control the environment. Instead, we view it as \u2018habitat care,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cJust as our bodies maintain a dynamic equilibrium to stay healthy, cleaning is an extension of that biological process into the space we inhabit. When we clean, we are not just fixing a room; we are tending to our expanded self. It is a way of caring for the relationship between us and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than needing a perfect result, Matsumoto said, try to embrace incompletion without being anxious.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeace is found not in the final \u2018tidy state,\u2019\u201d he said, \u201dbut in the humble, ongoing act of emptying the space and our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no such thing as perfection.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn nature, everything is constantly changing \u2014 leaves fall the moment you finish sweeping,” he said.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the feeling of being overwhelmed isn\u2019t about the task itself, but what it represents. That could be time pressure, self-judgment, or other anxieties, Schiff said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBreak the task down into very small, defined actions to reduce that barrier,\u201d she suggested. \u201cJust choose one surface, one task, or one room for starters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the overwhelm comes from anticipating the entire task rather than just engaging with that first step,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a clean space, even if the person who cleaned it is not there, we can feel their consideration and awareness,\u201d Matsumoto said. \u201cThis awareness creates a sense of peace and safety, similar to why sacred spaces like temples feel different from the busy streets.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cBefore enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.\u201d Zen apprentices, or \u201cunsui\u201d monks, spend…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":810637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[36],"tags":[1736,28898,210,1165,517,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-810636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-anxiety","tag-buddhism","tag-health","tag-lifestyle","tag-mental-health","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116608815014706817","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}