Wash, Rinse, Repeat, Tumble-dry

The laundry room sits on the other side of the wall from my desk. I can hear the dryer buzz. I imagine I hear the clothes take their final tumble. And for a brief second, I’m tempted to leave my writing project and stick my head in the dryer to grab my clothes before the wrinkles set in.

But, I don’t.

I stay at my desk and continue to ignore the housework and paperwork that surround me. Dishes in the sink, clothes to fold. Contacts to update, receipts to file, articles to study, songs to learn, essays to write.

My list begins where it ends.

The creative process can be messy. I live in the ebb and flow of it and have learned to enjoy its various phases rather than to fight them. Often the process feels redundant — the starting and stopping, then the starting again.

Years ago a friend gave me a book titled Mastery by George Leonard. The premise of the book is that mastery is a journey, a pathway we choose to take in order to fully learn and present a subject or skill. There are times when the journey feels too difficult, when boredom steers us in another direction; there are times when we feel tempted to step off the path and turn our backs on our work.

When I read Leonard’s book for the first time in 1993, I highlighted many passages and looking back at these, I am drawn to one in particular (Leonard, 88):

“Perhaps the best you can hope for on the master’s journey — whether your art be management or marriage, badminton or ballet — is to cultivate the mind and heart of the beginning at every stage along the way. For the master, surrender means there are no experts. There are only learners.”

Today, my struggle is similar to what it was twenty-two years ago, yet the pathway is easier, the process more enjoyable. I am comfortable following Leonard’s advice.

I find relief in beginning again.

The house is still and all is quiet on the other side of the wall. It doesn’t bother me that my clothes sit chilled and wrinkled at the bottom of the dryer.

Today, I stayed on the path.

Today, I made peace with my work — wash, rinse, repeat, tumble-dry.

* * * * *

Sources:

Leonard, George. Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-term Fulfillment. A Plume Book. New York. 1991.

McGuire, Ryan. Photo. Gratisography.com