All day today I’ve been thinking about this quote, and I often think about it whenever I’m carrying on with some of the monotonous or sometimes not so thrilling tasks I need to accomplish. Whether I’m changing the oil on my car or scrubbing the toilet I’m chopping wood and carrying water.
This saying comes from the ancient Chinese proverb: “Before enlightenment chop wood and carry water; after enlightenment chop wood and carry water”
On a very simple level all that this means is that regardless of who you are, life requires all of the same things on a physical level. We need to feed ourselves to survive, thats one thing for certain. And the thing about survival is that it is an ongoing process, it is not a destination!
Relate this back to your life, and all the context that falls within it. You are constantly growing, maybe to become more successful. That’s an ongoing process. Whereas you could never be a success because that would be more like a destination. How many times have you said to yourself, “I’ll be happy when…” and as soon as you got there the satisfaction began to fade because you ended up wanting more? Chop wood and carry water is always going on.
So what’s the difference between before enlightenment and after enlightenment? After all – they look the same! It comes down to attitude and presence.
The same tasks can bear a completely different feeling when approached with a different attitude. Instead of getting caught up in the monotony or frustration of all the little tasks that “get in your way,” understand that to do them and complete them is to bring great benefit into your life. Mowing the lawn is a great example. You could go out and mow it right now despite other things going on, or put it off two more days and do it later. Regardless, you’ve got to get it done at some point.
Lets say you choose to do it later. Reality is, the grass is longer, there’s more to bag, and the truth is you’d been kind of putting it off in the first place and now the mower bogs down unless you go reeaaaal slow. It takes almost twice as long and you realize how much harder you’ve made it on yourself.
Its these little tasks that really move you along in life. Getting all the “small stuff” out of the way is actually a big accomplishment that occurs throughout your lifetime. Do you think anyone that’s ever been great got away with not having to bath themselves or work a few hard jobs?
As for presence, this is literally where you make the most out of your time. Bringing in a great attitude helps you become more present because you’re not busy thinking of other things while you’re engaged in an activity. I could go into great detail of what it means to be present, but the important thing to gather is that you become more grateful, and in turn much happier. You begin to appreciate what was once a labor, or perhaps a job you dislike. Hey, even if you’re working at a fast food joint you’re still serving humanity. You can definitely feel good about that.
So here’s the rub. You’re only making yourself more miserable by avoiding or putting off the necessary tasks that enable you to enjoy life more freely. Of course, you could avoid chopping the wood and have quite an uncomfortable winter, or wait too long to go for water and eventually snuff out your own brilliance.
What does chop wood and carry water mean or symbolize for you?
