Sometimes a simple, easy and miniscule change made to your daily life can make a disproportionate difference to your sense of wellbeing; and so it is with the tale of my kitchen sink.
Springtime is the traditional time for clearing clutter, tidying, organising and if you are a little Virgo like me, you'll even buy a book on how to do it; I know - sad! And so it was, last year, I started reading Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley (The Fly Lady).
One of the many nuggets of clutter-clearing wisdom she shared was: never go to bed with a dirty sink and worktop.
You might think this is a pretty mundane piece of advice, not exactly earth-shattering and enlightened 'wisdom', not mentioned in any of the 'ancient texts' but think again.
Be it in our homes (with Feng Shui) or our bodies (TCM/EEM) it's all about keeping the energy flowing, avoiding congestion and stagnation and that's what a clean and tidy sink has, space for the energies to flow, space for your 'dirty water' to depart.
With flow comes balance, harmony, health and wellbeing. Zen masters taught that every little task could become a meditation ... so no reason why buffing up your taps couldn't be a spiritual exercise.
I have to say at this stage that my own kitchen sink is nowhere near as Zen as the one above, but when I come down in the morning and it's clear and clean, the sun shining through clean windows onto a shining tap, my day starts with a smile, it's almost as if, in some small way, it sets the energy for the next few hours.
So the 'try out' became a habit and now it's almost a meditation every evening to 'sink tidy' and reflect on the day, dwelling on the things that made me smile, feeling a gratitude for my many blessings and letting go of irritations down that shiny plughole! Waving goodbye to any chaotic mental clutter and feeling a calmness that then helps sleep come with ease. The morning will start with a Zen like calm - well maybe not quite Zen with two dogs running around - but certainly much more of a sense of clarity and 'control'.
They say never go to bed on an argument, I say never go to bed with a dirty sink!
I invite you to try it for a week and see if you feel the difference and begin to enjoy your evening reflections at the sink.
An affectionate bow of thanks to Biddy H for introducing me to the Fly Lady!