There's big things we should care about, and then there's little things we shouldn't. How the towels are folded, or the ring of water on the coffee table. When we give those things too much care, we transform the mundane into a battle. And then, every second of our everyday life becomes a battleground, a game of tug of war. We turn little issues into big ones that occupy our minds.
It's a line we have to toe. Not enough care and we are husks. Too much care and we are an anxious, brittle mess. We have to pick our battles, and we have to acknowledge that not all battles have a winner. Sometimes, there are only losers.
There is a sense of honour and zen in doing the mundane as perfectly as possible. Not to achieve perfection but strive towards the ideal within reason.
This is something I recently spoke with my father about. He was annoyed with trying to keep toxic mushrooms out of his yard. It was tedious and complicated.
Then he embraced the struggle, and looked at it the same way he used to train in martial arts. As a chosen striving towards an ideal.
He “monk-moded” his gardening and found joy in a mundane, repetitive task.
Through caring, he turned anxiety and annoyance into peace and acceptance.
He also won the battle against the mushrooms after 2 years of diligent effort.