I have often wondered why it rates as close to Godliness.
What's the big deal? I have seen pictures of clutter on the desks of brilliant writers, work benches of master mechanics where only they know the EXACT location of a special tool and music studios and movie sets with cables seemingly scattered everywhere.
Is there a difference between chaos and clean? Does one designate the other? Are they mutually exclusive?
I like clean, but I am not a clean fanatic. I appreciate chaos, and I also respect (most times) law and order. Dirty doesn't always denote bad. When I was playing ball my first priority as lead-off hitter was to be an exemplar to my teammates, and by default to the opponents, by getting filthy fast. Head-first red-clay dirt mixed with sweat (and sometimes tobacco) sends a powerful signal. This guy is willing to get dirty to get the job done. There is grease under fingernails and war paint under eyes. It was my badge of courage. I will play clean, but I will also play hard.
Opposite the sporting competitiveness is another example. There is an unspoken law that in a Zen monastery the highest ranking monk cleans the bathrooms. And we're not talking about him/her hiring a janitor, we're talking about him/her getting down on knees with a toothbrush. To clean.
With humility and awareness, Needs to be clean. Just clean, no judgement and no separation of doer and doing. It is one.
Same with our training. There is a zone (we had a glimpse this morning) where bike and biker are one. The groove-zone sweet-spot. That space where time stops, chaos controlled, dirt swept away with focused efficiency. Sanitary. Very clean. Efficient and germ free.
Sitting and starring at dirty dishes, feeling the grinding teeth of a dirty chain, allowing our thoughts to drift to calmer, warmer, more relaxed places, is procrastination of a particularly messy degree. Clean it up.
Wash the dishes, clean your chain and stay present during the process. You will order the chaos and clean your mind and spirit. Thus….
Godliness.
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