Mun-dane: Relating to, characteristic of, or concerned with commonplaces; ordinary.
~
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I've noticed lately, the older version of myself appreciates the odd
mundane rituals that comprise our daily lives. My younger version
would rush through a day's routine activities, regarding them as the
tedious crap, in order to get to the real stuff, the things I considered
worthy of my esteem. As children, we were forced to complete our
"chores" first, before moving on to other pursuits. Did we learn, at an
early age, to think of this integral part of life as purely menial?
The fact is, for most of us, a major portion of our lives is made up of
common routines. Why not embrace the beauty of the mundane?
Relish the velvety dish soap and renewing quality of water from the
kitchen tap; or the repetitive rhythm of the iron on a fresh cotton
shirt, savouring the warm scent rising from the steam.
Entering the early autumnal season of life, that "I'm invincible; I will
mundane rituals that comprise our daily lives. My younger version
would rush through a day's routine activities, regarding them as the
tedious crap, in order to get to the real stuff, the things I considered
worthy of my esteem. As children, we were forced to complete our
"chores" first, before moving on to other pursuits. Did we learn, at an
early age, to think of this integral part of life as purely menial?
The fact is, for most of us, a major portion of our lives is made up of
common routines. Why not embrace the beauty of the mundane?
Relish the velvety dish soap and renewing quality of water from the
kitchen tap; or the repetitive rhythm of the iron on a fresh cotton
shirt, savouring the warm scent rising from the steam.
Entering the early autumnal season of life, that "I'm invincible; I will
live forever" feeling is beginning to wane. As an artist, I'm one to
naturally drink in the simple details of life. But, these days, that
sweet smell of freshly folded white towels and the comforting hum of
the dryer are extra nice. So, savour the weekend, my bloggy friends,
and embrace some of those lovely ordinary tasks.
Creativity is piercing the mundane
to find the marvelous.
~
Bill Moyer
.
.
PS...Okay, I admit it. I'm experiencing some difficulty in discovering
the marvels of twirling the brush around the toilet bowl.
artwork: by David McCosh, 1930's
OH!!! that PS cracked me up. How "swirl" of you. :)
ReplyDeleteAnyways.... yes, Brother Lawrence adn mother Theresa talked a lot about making those simple daily chores, prayers of life in themselves. Great wisdom there. I do that when I do the dishes that is why I always volunteer to do them after a big holiday meal.
Trouble is now my once daily ritual is pretty much thrown up in the air that I seem to grab at life like sluthcing straws. Rather tedious I msut sa, still life it is.
you know, I never felt invincible as kid --I always though we'd get blown to smithereens with the bomb being in London and all but also, that didn't bother me--it meant I wouldn't have to do my homework. I know, bad, bad, bad. I comforted myself with that fact we'd at least not have to die of malnutrition and radiation sickness etc as we'd go in flash--literally.
Now, I see my life going on for ages. Life actually seems to ahve slowed down. Isn't that backwards? :)
Ironing, hanging clothes on the line, sweeping -- love those chores! And in these autumnal years, the hot water of washing dishes by hand feels good on my arthritic fingers.
ReplyDeleteI can't get into vacuuming though -- too noisy.
Couldn't agree more! And it has come as such a surprise to find myself enjoying and appreciating mundane tasks.
ReplyDeleteOh my.... your blog & your pic's is amazing!!
ReplyDeleteRegards from Agneta in Sweden
Thank you, Agneta, and welcome to Willow Manor!
ReplyDeleteI often think about the mundane...it's so easy to confuse the mundane with the boring....in truth there is magic in our daily routines...So many people around the world only dream about being able to have a home, a beautiful house, trees, gardens, music, and yet we take these things for granted. Home Sweet Home I say to that, may your mundane activities always be blessed with magic and love. Great post.
ReplyDeleteSometimes when the kids aren't home... I actually enjoy cleaning when I know it's not going to get messed up right behind me.
ReplyDeleteWhen it's all clean at once (which is rare) I feel good.
And it's weird, but in my nice clean kitchen, I feel taller...
But I'd love to have it all done real quick so I can get to the sewing and creative parts of my life!
I get some of my best daydreaming done over the ironing board. I turn on the radio, make myself a hot cup of tea and dream away.
ReplyDeleteOnes thoughts swirl and swoosh about as the dish water bubbles clean the kitchen - the heart of the home. I especially enjoy the scent of lavender dish soap, something my friend Donna of the blog Layers introduced to me. Like a bubble bath for the hands...Great post dear Willow. Happy long weekend to you.
ReplyDeleteOh, McVal, I love how you feel taller in your clean kitchen. That's just priceless!!
ReplyDeleteEmbrace the mundane?
ReplyDeleteNot a chance of that happening.
Endure the mundane I understand.
The common round, the trivial task
ReplyDeleteMay furnish all I need to ask
17th century Hymn
says it all, I think!
ewix, I love that.
ReplyDeletegreat post, thank you for that.
ReplyDeletelove the quote & yes let me know when you find the joy in cleaning a toilet
Ironing=hell. Cleaning=heaven. Leave hell to husband. I am in heaven a little more often than I'd like, but that's OK.
ReplyDeleteWillow-
ReplyDeleteI love the painting, especially that scrawny little kitty.
I'm at a stage where I don't save the best for last..I start the day with the best..a long walk in the park, sitting under a sheltering tree, listening to the summer sounds..then later, the chores..maybe.
I did a little bit of cleaning this morning (as much as my shoulder would tolerate) & I felt so virtuous afterward. I don't think I've reached the point of enjoying the process, but I definitely appreciate the end result much more than when I was younger.
ReplyDeletei have been shoveling mulch all day and would give anything for some mundane and ordinary right now...lol. there is an appreciate of the simple chores that you know so well that it frees your mind to think elsewhere...have a great weekend savoring willow.
ReplyDeleteDo you notice the cat strolling off in the opposite direction to the ironing? Away from the mundane into the marvellous... and also, the ironer... I wonder what she's thinking.. super painting. And I love your mindfulness post. Autumn will be more beautiful this year, shared.
ReplyDeleteAh dear Willow, if you are twirling you already have.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who the artist was, but I would tip that to be a self-portrait. Sherlock Holmes strikes again.
Your post reminds me of the 8 of rainbows card from the Osho Zen tarot deck. Osho states,
ReplyDelete"We so easily take this beautiful world for granted. Cleaning the house, tending the garden, cooking a meal - the most mundane tasks take on a sacred quality when they are performed with your total involvement, with love, and for their own sake, without thought of recognition or reward."
Thanks for your post Willow.
Let me know when you find the marvelous in the frozen goo at the bottom of your freezer that needs to be cleaned out but you just can't bring yourself to do it...
ReplyDeleteI think about these "mundanities" when I look back on raising my children. There were so many things that seemed to be such a chore and unimportant, like watching them as they played in the sandbox or reading a story to them before their bedtime when I was just dead dog tired and all I wanted to do was lay down myself. But now, as they push away that role as "mother" more and more, I would give anything to be able to do those "mundane" things again and remember to actually enjoy them. Time is so short.
ReplyDeleteAnd oh, I so love a clean toilet.
I love routine! I hate when I have to break from it! By the way, when are you going to bring back that evil clown face in the box as a profile picture? It is soooo cool!
ReplyDeleteWillow - I have been so harried and hurried (sorry for the deadbeatness - new word - on visiting) that I AM rushing, frantically through everything. Thank you for the reminder to BREATHE and enjoy and embrace even the "toilet bowl" moments.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend, too.
You've got it right about childhood chores and early adopted attitudes toward the commonplace routines of life. My mother must not have seen any joy in chores... I can not remember her saying or doing anything that might have suggested that it was even possible (let alone desirable) to embrace the beauty of the mundane.
ReplyDeleteI like this post and hereby make a commitment to seek comfort and beauty in the ordinary tasks of my weekend - to look for meditative zen in the repetition, even in the swirl of the brush in the toilet bowl.
that picture reminds me of the story "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olson. Know it? PS I often turn my sweaters and sweatshirts inside out. Does that make me an artist? :)
ReplyDeletei'm sorry - but could someone please tell me what the word "mundane" means - and what language is that?
ReplyDeleteI am one of those wierdos who loves to iron.
ReplyDeleteI am and have always been a nest builder, keeping the nest tidy makes me feel good.I don't recall that I ever felt it was mundane unless it was when the children were small.
ReplyDeleteCarol, that must be the Virgo in you!
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! So clean and clear I feel I am wandering through your tasks and lingering with you.
ReplyDeleteI used to be fascinated by those blue things people put in the toilet bowls. I wonder if they still sell them?
How I love this post!!!!! ♥
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and ponderous, Willow. This post needs to be digested slowly. I think we lost the connection to making things that nourished us, tasks that were necessary for a good life. Now, very few things need ironing, and the difference in feel between ironed and not ironed may not be worth the time when our lives are sooooo filled with work and other preoccupations.
ReplyDeleteI just posted today about 'mindfulness' as we go about our day-- what we look for as artists.
ReplyDeleteAnd I get what you say about cleaning toilets!
I really wish I could help you with the toilet bowl thing, but, my god, it irritates me so that I have to be the one who does that job in this house ever day! Working on it though.
ReplyDeleteOh, so true, Willow! I get very philosophical about the mundane, and often go into a rapturous dream while I'm doing chores, marvelling at the gloriousness of things - only to find that someone else is finishing the job because I've been standing for ten minutes in a rapturous dream!
ReplyDeleteyes..I am entering the autumn of my life as well. I am finding complete and utter raptuous joy in things that wouldn't event warrant so much as a yawn , as little as 5 years ago, in me.
ReplyDeleteSmells in particular..just the slightest whiff
of line dried clothing, cherry pipe tobacco,Camay bar soap,cloves...these will send me into fits of nostaglic bliss.
I will remember my father making breakfast, all dressed up, before church and the way he would crack the egg into two perfect half shells..I try but I still can't do that!
I will remember my Uncle lighting his pipe and the way he would puff, puff, puff the same way in the same rhythm every time to start it.
I will remember sitting on the toilet tank watching my Grandmother washing her face in the sink working her way from the
outside in with her fingertips.
I will remember my Mother's kitchen rituals at Easter and the way should would let me spike the ham with cloves "place them two finger spaces apart all the way around"
I have my own rituals now but I like to lose myself every once in a while in the comfort of an old one.
Peace - Rene
You know, I can't imagine you being anywhere else but in front of the computer! 'the repetitive rhythm of the iron'!? - oh, my pet hate but I'm good at it! I love the smell of fresh towels and must admit that habits are hard to break; I can't 'play' until after the chores are done!
ReplyDeleteLove ewix's comment!
ReplyDeleteIt's always so interesting here. How you make toilet scrubbing interesting, I'll never know!
Loved the art piece you used to illustrate your point!
ReplyDeleteI've never held household chores in much esteem. I've appreciated the result of time spent performing them though. Since spending the last seven years working outside my home, I've often thought that if I ever have the luxury of spending my days at home again, I am going to appreciate every part of it. Even the chores. You never know what you have until you don't have it anymore.
My favorite days are spent at home puttering around and accomplishing housework at a nice, slow pace.
ReplyDeleteAnd I will admit, as I've grown older, ironing has become more pleasant...especially without a two-year old hanging on one leg like in my younger years! ha!
It's all about 'being in the moment', that's for sure... ;)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly except for the invincible part.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of the toilet bowl, it's the destination that's satisfying, not the journey.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm with you. I love the instant gratitification and monastic pleasure of housecleaning, cooking and tending. I only resist it if I have to hurry. Otherwise, it's a wonderful way to fill the days.
Part of the mysterious benefits of growing older!
love the mccosh painting! i can so relate to her. smile!!
ReplyDeletei love the rituals at work so much. each has a calming effect on what can be a whirlwind day.
i don't know, cleaning is a great form of therapy! :) excellent reminders in this post though!
ReplyDeleteMindfulness. Yes, I do appreciate the mundane these days, for all the reasons you stated. Life is slower, sweeter, and minus the toliet bowl, throughly enjoyable.
ReplyDelete"Okay, I admit it. I'm experiencing some difficulty in discovering
ReplyDeletethe marvels of twirling the brush around the toilet bowl."
Don't apologize for that. Finding joy in the mundane is something that comes with maturity. We can wish our life away so we don't have to clean toilet bowls, or we can choose to appreciate the finite beauty of a clean bowl. Such an easy pleasure.
Okay, that may have sounded not so good. But, wipe away three weeks worth of dust on a dresser? Much more complete a project than many tasks that we face in life. Especially as artists, where being finished is not so definitive.
Hi Willow
ReplyDeleteto slow food
and slow walking
we can now add
slow cleaning...
Mindfulness at work...
Happy days
Hate ironing because I'm so bad at it ... but I must say there are a lot of amazing paintings of ironing ladies out there. Love this one!
ReplyDeleteahahahahahahahaah!
ReplyDeleteI love hanging clothes on a scrisp late summer morning on a line strung between apple trees, but: I shudder at the sight of a pile of laundry waiting to be ironed ..... soon .... some day ... not today .... I promise, I shall do a little dance of joy should one fine morning all these linens turn up folded and ironed by an invisible hand overnight! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat brought a wry smile of recognition. You could almost say Age shall not weary them of their routines... quite the reverse. Thanks for making me smile!
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful Bill Moyer quote. I was just saying this to my partner the other day (perhaps not as eloquently as you and Bill) My mother loves to wash. She reminds me of Dame Wash a Lot from the Faraway tree . When I was younger I used to hate it about her. As I've got older I can see there is an enormous art in what she does. Nobody cleans like my mother! XX
ReplyDeleteNo. I've tried. Can't do it. There are few things I want to embrace less than filling the dishwasher. Spectacular artwork however.
ReplyDeleteI love this, thank you for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteLove your postscript Willow! Frankly, I take great joy in seeing how shiny a surface is once the dust is dispersed. Not only that but, because the work is routine, it gives me time to think about whatever creative process I'm currently engaged in... or want to be.
ReplyDeleteWillow, LOL at your post script! And I'm embracing, I'm embracing! Have a happy, long week-end m'dear :)
ReplyDeletePlenty of mundane tasks around here if you'd like to pop over and experience more of the inner satisfaction, Willow! I'm afraid I have yet to find the magic! Enjoy your holiday weekend.
ReplyDeleteNot all mundane tasks are equal. Or equally Zen.
ReplyDeleteOr something.
Enjoy those to bring you pleasure and I will promise to enjoy mine.
I like the quote!And the P.S,LOL!Enjoy your weekend!:)
ReplyDeleteright on! (and I'm in total agreement about the toilet bowel)
ReplyDeletethat moyers quote is worthy of committing to memory! you know how I love a good quote!
have a marvelous weekend - be it mundane or not!!
hello willow - as i get older (52) i am almost grateful for the opportunity to experience the very small, seemingly insignificant mundanities. they carry weight and presence when you give them your attention don't they? as for the toilet bowl . . . i foyu don't get that buzz from the experience hand it on to someone who might. that's what my wife did!!!! ha!!! have a lovely day at the manor. steven
ReplyDeleteMy mother always loved ironing, and she was awesome at it. As a child, I had a tiny ironing board with a real iron (that didn't get too hot, but it actually ironed!) I used to stand with my iron, next to my mom, and she let me iron my dad's handkerchiefs while she ironed his shirts and made them crisp and beautiful. I have very fond memories of that, although I've never admitted it to anyone else before. Now that she's gone, I think of her every time I iron. I always use cloth napkins in the kitchen, and I iron them--in a way, subconsciously, I think it's a tribute to her. Toilets hold none of that nostalgia for me, I admit.
ReplyDeletemmmm, I'm a champion of the mundane - wonderful post Willow :)
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean...I have been enjoying the task of organizing my cupboards in my new kitchen...a job I would rush through in the past. Life is good...all of life!
ReplyDeleteI like this text, PS included! :-) And, as usual, a great image to go with!
ReplyDeleteYes, I couldn't agree more...but it's the pleasant routines that are satisfying...ewe to my bathroom cleaning chores! You are funny!
ReplyDeleteI find mundane tasks very meditative, no brainers. Creative time.
ReplyDeleteHey! Where'd you get that picture of me?
To briefly ponder.... I would rather swirl an artist brush, than a tolet brush. As I would rather sit upon the throne, than sit upon the outhouse. I truly enjoy your blog, It is classy, intelletual, whimsical in nature, puts thoughts,smiles,wonderment in my days of routine chores, and the must dos. Thanks, Brook
ReplyDeletethank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI've also come to enjoy the mundane tasks but, like you, not twirling the toilet brush. But then I guess I should be glad to have the porcelain marvel instead of a chamber pot, or worse, an outhouse.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!
You have to be in the right mood for the mundane really. I've got a new hoover and right now am really enjoying it - in a year's time it will have lost its charms I'm sure. Ironing will never have charm though - I loathe it
ReplyDeleteIt is true, a clean and tidy environment is energizing. I always work best in a freshly cleaned room. Maybe one day I will even get to the stage of ironing towels like my old mum.
ReplyDeleteIn the picture I love it that she has had the good sense to loop the iron cord over the door so that it won't get in her way. On the other hand, it shows that she is alone, otherwise someone might walk through the door and create a terrible accident.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were very young, we took embers from the fire and put them in the bottom of an all iron iron, or rather I watched others doing this, but the smell was twice as wonderful.
Hey, Marc, if you click to enlarge the painting, you can see someone sitting in the chair in the back room. It looks like a man reading the paper.
ReplyDeleteI have some of those old irons with the chamber for coals. Man, those things were heavy babies!
Wow! Speaking as a bachelor... you mean you actually have to CLEAN a toilet? Great post Willow, and thanks for signing up at our new site!
ReplyDeleteLovely PS. I have come to accept those mundane activities in life that we are told to and transform them into moments of pure magic. For instance, ironing for me is equivalent to watching a baseball or football (soccer) game or maybe enjoying an old film.
ReplyDeleteLoved your post and have a nice weekend, too.
Greetings from London.
Goodness me!
ReplyDeleteI don't know...that man in the background might be popping popcorn and watching a movie! ;)
ReplyDeleteOtin, (btw, what IS otin, anyway?) Evil clown face?! Could you be referring to the beautious pic of myself in the sunglasses? You know it couldn't possibly be a clown, since my feelings for clowns are soooo obvious.
ReplyDeleteOkay. I must think about bringing it back, by popular demand, of course.
I comment for the first time and come here for the first time in ages, and what a good coincidence, your post of today in your amazingly beautiful page.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you - I used to enjoy it all out of love, but since my child is gone, my practice at the moment is that I lost totally the contact with all that.
At the moment I can't bear even just the thought of all those tasks. They feel like load to me.
I'll try to think of you and your post!
And I do feel much smaller since it is so! lol!
ReplyDeleteOh God, let me be tall again please. lol :=)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am quite strongly with you on this post. I find peace and comfort and satisfaction in the mundanities of my everyday life--well, I'd better, as home-making is my full-time job--it gives me time to daydream.
ReplyDeleteI just checked out your Library Thing library and your very nice blog (love the ghost stories) and I know you would love author DENTON WELCH's MAIDEN VOYAGE (especially knowing you loved I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING). Did you also like Powell & Pressburger's CANTERBURY TALES? If you don't know it I suspect you will find it well worth you while to watch it. All the best from CT!
ReplyDeleteHi CT, yes, love P&P's Canterbury Tales. Now I must check out the Welch. Thanks so much for stopping by and for the recommendation!
ReplyDeletehow did you get that pic of me?? teehee
ReplyDeleteWonderful quote AND painting, so expressive.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog..It is very intertaining. I can see you do not need another follower..but I am going to follow anyway because I see why people stop by for a visit.
ReplyDeleteKatelen
Granted. Toilet bowls are a challenge for those searching the marvellous side of life...
ReplyDeleteAs a serious and committed ironer, I support all you say here.
ReplyDeleteOh sweet Willow, I'm despatching the Martha Cult Busters Team to the Manor immediately - Priority One call-out I reckon!
ReplyDeleteMillie ^_^
Found something for you...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biography.com/featured-biography/johnny-depp/game.jsp?vid=BIO_DigitalDist_MSN
i really identify with this and was thinking along similar lines yesterday, as I hung out crackling white sheets and multi-coloured socks on the washing line...
ReplyDeleteAhhh yes, the swirling of the bowl (sounds like a verse by Burns)...mundane indeed...lol.
ReplyDeleteCleaning windows always sends me off to a desert setting for some obscure reason.
I can live with the dawning realisation that Im not immortal or invincible...but show mr a dirty window!
"mundus", latin for "world"
ReplyDeletemundo = world
mundane, thus, I also thought synonym of "wordly".
"wereldse" in dutch
Mundane in english, mundano in my language - that close, we are! :)
My best wishes
I find it a very meditative experience watching a Woman Ironing!!!!
ReplyDeleteSkip, now that is TOO much fun!! Thanks for the link. Now I'm definitely not going to get any bathroom cleaning done! :P
ReplyDeleteI did a lot of "mundane" things around my apartment today but I got to do them in a different light since I feel different with a new job etc... it is very strange how we can change the way we feel about things so easily... it is all in our heads isn't it?!
ReplyDeleteBut no matter how "boring" life may get, I can always find something beautiful and inspiring at Willow Manor!
Great reflections. Good advice for a person who hates repetitious events, be they mundane or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSo... I did also a lot of mundane things: at the computer! Oh my!!!
ReplyDeleteMundane, house cleaning and so? Not !You are all heroes for me. I am your fan!
Ohhh, I've been trying out my name and photo and all...I had forgotten... looking at the result, it shall change again...
ReplyDeleteThis painting has SO MANY facets to it...I like it that mi lady is PLUMP yet does she have on her nightie or is she in some sort of party dress?
ReplyDeleteMundane...good word...so many things are...but do they HAVE to be mundane?
What a gem of a post. We are often so busy we can hardly see the treasures of our daily lives. Thank you for remind us!
ReplyDelete