I finally figured out what’s up with mopping the floors. He said I kept mentioning ‘mopping the floors’ over and over when I got back after a month at sea. Maybe there was more to mopping floors than meets the eye and what did mopping the floors mean to me? Was there some kind of Lady MacBeth thing going on? What was I hoping to scrub away.
I was heading for a clean slate: clean like I left it and how I like it.. I like walking around bare-foot without sticking to the floor. I also like how it feels to open up new spaces inside and out, be more present, cleaner and clearer, unstuck, free to evolve. I think I also saw mopping as clear the way to a new space – inside and out.
The floor is newly mopped: yesterdays footprints have been washed away, it’s the dance floor of the present moment – sun dried tiles on clean feet. I’ve moved from mopping to cleaning the glass sliders and sorthing out long ignored shelves and cupboards, getting rid of stuff – a kind of 3-D mop job.
Then suddenly this morning I had an epiphany about the past and the future and clean floors and mopping.
I don’t want to be walking on steps (including my own) that have dragged in dirt before me. Mopping makes starting fresh possible (even if it doesn’t take long before the floor is dirty again) and there’s such satisfaction when the mop finally wrings clear and the floor shines.
Moving soap and water across the floor of my small cottage, I shift the energy of my home and my homecoming. It becomes lighter and more spacious. Cleaning the sliding glass doors this morning expanded the horizon to infinity. Mopping cleared the way and set the stage.
On the inner landscape, scan your body, check in with your emotional guidance system (how you’re feeling) and notice your thoughts – you can see better where to mop, where the grime and monkey mind thoughts have gathered and which approach will dislodge and dissolve them.
In my kitchen I pull out the stove and cupboard to find rats nests and havens for roaches (yuck). I clean it all up, drown the spots in bleach and take pest control measures. I divest myself of what I no longer need and as the space grows in the drawers, I find that I can breathe better and my small place feels airy and full of light.
The world is your mirror. Whatever you do on the outside is always an indication of where you are on the inside. When you are mopping you are not only cleaning your house but also cleaning your inner hidden pockets and crannies. It’s a dual purpose activity – just add consciousness – results guaranteed.
That being said I’m going to find my Bonnie Raitt CD, crank it up and mop the floors baby!
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