Moon at Half Past Noon

These days water keeps creeping in. Seeping through walls, sneaking under the doors, or minor flooding in the house. The superstitious bum in me says, ‘spirits are trying to send a message’. What this message is, I don’t know. Except for a reminder from my Zen training days. ‘Mind the corners’.’ Anna had said nonchalantly.

Her words bit and hurt. Yet, I couldn’t quiet understand her message. Not until this morning when I found the house flooded. I had left the semi-automatic running unattended when the mighty hose broke free. Two bedrooms experienced minor flooding. It was deeply annoying.

I began mopping around lazily. The more I mopped, more water kept sweeping away the dirt off my feet. Is it my mother who’s crying on the other side for having raised a lazy old man? Or, was it the universe telling me to mend my ways. I kept quibbling, reluctantly moving the water from one corner to the other.

I had to move a few blocks of furniture around. I began with a small bed side table, then moved a settee. A small clean-up project turned into a massive clean up in no time. The more I moved the furniture, more dirt and grime I found floating. Corners, turned out to be the worst. They hide in plain sight. Daily cleaning and sweeping helps these corners go under cover. I looked behind the bed, and under it. Every piece of furniture provided a safe haven for dust.

In Zen, mindful living helps extend practice of meditation into our daily lives. Minding the corners, means giving each moment the greatest attention that it deserves. Looking at objects in plain sight more carefully. As if scanning the universe in a slow motion under a microscope. Corners tell us a story about the quality of our attention and, by corollary quality of our actions.

Today, I spent more time cleaning the house then I had in last 15 days. Mindless action results more action and frustration. On the brighter side an epiphany opens a new window. The mirror on the walls reflects more clearly. The lesson learned well – mind the corners! Pausing a minute before jumping into a job creates space for clarity. Mind focuses better, and body responds decisively.