Realizing Sentience

"To my mind, the idea that doing the dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you are not doing them. Once you are standing in front of the sink with your sleeves rolled up and your hands in warm water, it really is not so bad. I enjoy taking my time with each dish, being fully aware of the dish, the water, and each movement of my hands. I know that if I hurry in order to go and have a cup of tea, the time will be unpleasant and not worth living. That would be a pity, for each minute, each second of life is a miracle. The dishes themselves and the fact that I am here washing them are miracles! . . ." Thich Nhat Hahn

On this hot summer evening, I was washing dishes; my mind going in a hundred different directions as usual. I had brought the fan into the kitchen and it seemed to finally be cooling down a bit. I thought about how I appreciated the occasional cool breezes. I then thought about how fortunate I am to have cool, clean water with which to wash my dishes; enjoying how the clean, clear glasses and bowls looked when all the food residue was washed away. I took a break for a bit, and sprayed some bleach cleaner onto the silverware for extra cleaning. Then I started thinking further that my plants that I keep in the kitchen next to the sink were in dismay because of the probably death of any lingering bacteria on the silverware or in the sink. Oh don't think I'm crazy yet - try Googling "The Secret Life of Plants." That book is a discussion for another day. As I made my mental apologies to the plants I started to think about my wish for them to one day be in their natural environment, and naturally being supplied with everything that they need from the Earth. I then thought that I should send a friendly thought of thanks to the plant kingdom deva (nature spirit) for the plants' giving of themselves to humans for our enjoyment. Some people know what I'm talking about (probably anyone who is still reading to this point) and other (who have probably actually stopped reading this by now) might think I'm nuts.

In any case, how this post relates to the title of my blog site is that I've read SOOO much esoteric information, that I've got "monkey mind" more than ever now.

I am aware that every "thing" is sentient. Everything is matter. It occurred to me one day that if every single thing on Earth is made up of atoms, molecules, etc. then nothing is stationary. That's not to say that everything has a soul, but I think that plants, rock, dirt, the elements of our homes are sentient! Everything is made from elements from the Earth which are sentient and because those elements have been manipulated doesn't mean that they are dead.

I'm on TMI overload. I'm almost constantly trying to control my thoughts because I know that our thoughts create things. I need to focus on what I "want" rather than what I "don't want", i.e., pro peace rather than anti war. But then, it's also my understanding that if I "want" something that means that I don't already have it, which is supposed to be a state of mind.

I have so much more to say on this but I think the bacteria in the sink and on the silverware is dead now. I hope that my plants aren't angry with me. But that's just a human trait, right?