Do you remember a few years back when all the unoriginal souls were running around this godforsaken country of ours saying the “I’m all out of fucks to give” nonsense? I’m sure that most of you do, but for those that missed that wave: the graduation from the sincerity of the expression to the abbreviated “idgaf,” that we so commonly used in our early stages of text messaging, had morphed into a battle cry for a certain class of like-minded people. Now it’s evolved past that into a generally accepted part of the American lexicon appearing on t-shirts next to such esteemed predecessors as ‘That’s what she said,’ ‘YOLO’, and ‘Mercury in Retrograde’. Honestly, who doesn’t cringe when you hear someone sincerely say any one of those trite lines? If you don’t cringe, then you’re probably still using the expression, and more: you’re losing the game of life.
Not giving a fuck is really just saying that nothing matters to you in your life, which is obviously not true, so let’s just get that right out of the way. When you say that, what you are doing is tricking your mind into thinking that is it true, then you get infected with the disease that kills more dreams than anything—laziness.
A few posts ago I told you how the practice of eating a bowl of cereal can allow you the time (there’s the link in case you missed that gem of a protip) to organize your thoughts and develop a game plan. Here, in this post, washing dishes will help you practicing giving a fuck, because dammit you need to. I’m not just talking about tossing your used dishes into the dishwasher and calling it a day. I mean having the personal connection with your tools and instruments, I mean hand-washing your dishes as a practice. Now, more than ever in our lives, we need to practice great hygiene. In response to that, I’ve taken that time that I normally allocated to wash dishes, and converted into a time for reflection. Like you, I have a lot of pride in the food that comes out of my kitchen. Like any good artist, you want to work with good tools; and like any good mechanic will tell you, if you take care of your tools, they’ll take care of you. So I focus. I focus on cleaning, washing, drying, and putting away dishes with care—with purpose…giving a fuck. I do it with the intention of doing a good job so that, if I’m able to do that basic life skill perfectly, I can only go up in tasks to preform perfectly. With that logic in mind—while washing dishes—I analyze what I have going on in life. I address my hubris and humility for those life issues and try to determine how I’ll resolve them in my mind before putting it to practice. Doing it all seamlessly, effortlessly, in Zen with myself, my task, and my surroundings. (Holy shit, right?)
Around the 12th Century, the Japanese were the first to really look at physical cultivation as an act Zen. Predominantly, the physical cultivation of Zen was seen more with traditional martial arts (like archery) but it also extended out to things like calligraphy, painting, poetry, gardening, and the tea ceremony. Not too far removed from that (now) is the Jesse Saxon physical cultivation of zen by washing dishes. By implementing the act of being diligent on washing my dishes with purpose—of not only cleanliness, but also of preservation—I have been able to utilize an otherwise meaningless time to something productive. My physical efforts are focused on the task at hand, allowing my mental focus to eliminate the thoughts that no longer need to take up space in my head—aka finding out what I give a fuck about.
Samurai Archer by Toshikata Mizuno, 1866-1908
When you hear someone utter that phrase that they ‘don’t care’, you can safely assume they’re lazy. They’ve given up fighting. To me, when you’re a person of that mindset, you’re of no use to me. I have to surround myself with people determined to win in life—people who don’t accept not caring. It’s easy to get caught up in life today and give into the laziness; but that’s not for me. I have to stay sharp. As a man I have to make sure we’re running a tight ship. As a man, people depend on me. I have to make sure that I’m dependable, part of doing that it taking time to not only organize your thoughts, but also eliminate the ones that I don’t need anymore. For me, I achieve that when I’m doing the dishes (perfectly).
You may be able to find that time gardening, landscaping, writing, painting, or boxing. Whatever it is that you do, physically, to help de-clutter your mind, do it with purpose…give a fuck. Be the difference in the world when it comes to saving it.
