Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Ironing and meditation

Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing about who that is. It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely the path that is your life.
~Jon Kabat-Zinn
from the book, Simple Abundance
*******
Many of us do not like and avoid cleaning the house. I certainly don't like cleaning the house. Crazy to say, but I like ironing. When I was 17 years old I cleaned house for the doctor and his family that delivered me. I learned to iron his shirts and learned to enjoy ironing. The only time it wasn't fun was when his little daughter would come up behind me and knowing my hands were busy, she would pull down my pants. The above picture are the fruits of my ironing this week. I ironed some fabric to prepare for quilting, a vintage linen table cloth, and vintage pillowcases. I love freshly ironed cotton pillowcases. Oh they feel so nice when I climb into bed at night. Now you are saying, what does that have to do with meditation and spiritual? For me ironing is a time for reflection and meditation. The rhythm of the iron moving back and forth centers my thinking and helps me to focus. With each movement of the iron I see the results of my efforts, but also it clears my mind to think about my life journey. For me it is a time of meditation. What do you do to help in your time of reflection and meditation?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Often I spend my favorite silent time ironing. Good for the soul.

Christina said...

Sometimes, while ironing (a task I used to dislike), I wonder who sewed the seams or the designs and whether they liked their work and created it with love or were just being paid a pittance to do a job. There is a lot to be said for meditation in ironing! :-). Thank you for such a lovely blog!

Linda Jennings said...

I have always found ironing to be somewhat theraputic, a time for reflection and as you say, meditation. I have one friend who feels the same way, but most don't.

Anonymous said...

I also enjoy ironing and need to do alot of it...mostly linens. My grandmother taught me to iron and press the embroidery on the back side to "push it forward".