Do you ever stop and think about the difference between our lives and previous generations? The basics of life like cooking, dishes, and laundry are all stream-lined. Life is not very labor intensive (except folding said laundry). I was working in the laundry room this week folding 8 sets of queen sheets. It is tempting to have a podcast playing in my ears or music or something streaming on my phone. But I have come to enjoy the gift of monotonous tasks. People for centuries had the time to think while they did life. Washing clothes, cooking food, washing dishes, mopping floors, tending animals, and mowing the lawn. How many of these tasks have we either stream-lined or outsourced to someone else to do it for us?

Folding sheets can seem like a “waste of my time”. Time to do what? Scroll on my phone, work on my computer, or entertain myself?

I am at a stage of life that we all share how much we sleep at night. Sleep can feel like a struggle. Not only are we not using the energy to do the tasks, but we are not allowing our mind the freedom to think while we are doing the tasks. When I am folding sheets, I am not thinking about sheets. I am thinking about things both shallow and deep. One thought leads to another, which leads to another, and next thing you know I have the answer to a struggle.

Why does your mind race at night? Could it be that is the first time that there is silence? You are laying down, have removed all the distractions , and now your mind has the time to kick in? What if you gave it that opportunity at 2 pm instead of 11 pm? There is a reason you have clarity and deep thoughts in the shower. It is often just your thoughts and some white noise!

I am one of those “weird” people that drive in a vehicle with no radio on. I go for a walk and not listen to a podcast. I sit on the couch and crochet and do not turn on the TV. I am becoming convinced that we “flood” and overwhelm our mind throughout the day to avoid feeling emotions. Do we buffer and avoid all day and then are surprised that we can’t sleep at night? I am not advocating for going back to the dark ages! However, i am promoting becoming aware of the gift of mundane tasks. Time to give your mind and heart an opening to process thoughts and emotions.