Cleaning with devotion by Liva
” When I first came to Avidanja as a volunteer I realized very fast that I am not always such a caring person as I think I am and that showed in relationships, in work and also in cleaning. During the last 3 years I have lived here and become a full resident and co-creator of this beautiful project, it has been an ongoing learning what it means to clean. How is it possible that I learn so much through such a simple action? Well I find that the way we clean is a reflection of the way we relate to nearly anything in life.
Being in a project with a spiritual ground, daily meditation practice and ongoing inquiry and retreats is part of our lives therefore a natural awakening process occurs and how I can describe it in simple words is I start to actually see. To see more and more of layers and limitations I put onto myself, seeing the other person and learning compassion and true care, seeing nature, seeing the tree I never noticed for years passing by it, seeing a friend in pain, seeing happiness in the midst of chaos, seeing the mystery in everything. I feel like I am just getting a flavour of what it means to see reality.
And suddenly the tape slows down and I notice that my father is not the person I always thought he was, realizing that world is not a utopia, waking up to reality that life equals death and suddenly seeing that the house is full of dirt.
That being said, a simple thing like cleaning shows me in each moment where I am at in my awakening process. I am starting to feel and see dirt in places I never even looked at. I feel more and more the need to slow down when I clean and do it with love and care, purifying and cleansing the space. Not for me, for everything and everyone including me. But it starts in caring for myself deeply and only then can I start caring for the whole. How willing am I to care about the whole and not just me?
Living in a community can be a powerful process in answering this question, especially when it comes to cleaning as that is where the most friction occurs !” – Liva, Co-Creator of Avidanja