Non-toxic Cleaning
hoto by Rick Donhauser
Non-toxic cleaning:
it’s more than what’s in the bottle
When I faced the first major cleaning of our new home, I was beyond discouraged. It wasn't the size of the house that was daunting, but rather my reaction to the seeming carelessness of the workers. They had left stucco on the outside of the windows, drywall mud on the inside of the windows, paint and drywall mud on the bathroom fixtures, cement in a toilet drain, mud on the wood floor, and more. I was overwhelmed with anger. Toxic anger.
It was easy to be angry—first at the workers for what seemed like carelessness, then at my husband for not hiring someone to clean, then at myself for not being proactive and preventing the mess in the first place.
As I sat in a moment of silence, the feeling of gratitude came to my awareness. This was shocking! "Gratitude? You've got to be kidding," I argued. In spite of the surface 'chatter,' this feeling of gratitude remained, and the quieter I became, the deeper the welling up of gratitude.
I realized that this abiding presence of gratitude didn't mean that I was, nor should be, grateful for the problem; rather it meant that the spiritual quality of gratitude was an ever-present part of my true nature. It was clear that this sense of gratitude was part of my very being, no matter what the picture looked like or what my thought tried to argue.
It's important to point out that this was not gratitude to someone or gratitude for something; it was simply a sense of infinite gratitude.
Experiences over the years had taught me that where we find one infinite spiritual quality, such as gratitude, we inevitably find more. As I remembered this, I suddenly became aware that our new home—in reality—was a manifestation such qualities of consciousness as beauty, comfort, creativity, delight, orderliness, peace, protection, purity, serenity and tranquility.
Instantly, I felt energy that I didn't realize I had. The job was done efficiently, and I enjoyed (almost) every minute. I say 'almost' because, as the job progressed, there were still moments when I was tempted to be angry. But whenever I recognized the din of angry thoughts as simply a powerless temptation to be distracted from my natural inner bliss, the angry thoughts disappeared.
When you set forth on a cleaning project—or any project—be sure the following 'supplies' are in your work kit:
Peace (no fear)
Ease (no anger or resentment)
Clarity (no confusion)
Orderliness (nothing haphazard)
Confidence (no discouragement)
Timeliness (no procrastination)
Blissful Building explores the sustainable 'starting point' for any project or activity, whether it be washing windows or saying a prayer.
Copyright © 1995 Joy Hirshberg All rights reserved.
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