Once a week I go to help my great-aunt who is 96. I do the shopping, the laundry, take her on errands, to doctors, and cook and clean. We enjoy one another’s company in the process, and I always feel good when I leave in the evening because I’ve helped out.
One thing comes up again and again when I go to her apartment complex, and I’ve wanted to write an article about it. Each time I go to the laundry room, there is always excess lint lying on the floor or left in the lint trap of the dryer. Many people just don’t bother to clean up after themselves once they get their clothes.
Being an observer, I’m always looking for clues surrounding us for insights into life. With the laundry room, I find myself wanting to just leave the lint in the dryer, too...not bother putting it into the garbage...justifying myself because “nobody else does it,” and every time a little voice inside my head gently whispers, “Be part of the solution.”
I argue with that voice. I don’t want to be part of the solution if nobody else does. Yet, when I get willful and leave things, I don’t feel right, so I go back and do the “right” thing, while part of me taunts “ Goodie Two Shoes!”
Funny thing is...I do feel better. Something positive happens to me when I participate in making things flow more harmoniously. I have a sense of being conscious and of doing my part to contribute to a better world. It starts with the lint trap. It unfolds with the argument in my head, and it completes itself with me doing what ought to be done. It also causes me to look around for more I can do to make a positive difference.
I have come to love Wednesdays with my great-aunt. I enjoy helping her with things that are simple for me but very hard for her now. She took care of her four story home in San Francisco for many years, and she was immaculate. Age has slowed her down, but she still does what she can. Her apartment is always neat and her patio is clean and inviting. She wants to make her place as nice as possible so it contributes to the attractiveness of the whole complex.
Picking up after ourselves makes a big difference. Contributing to the betterment of the whole is a unifying experience. It may seem like a little thing, but that weekly battle with the lint tray sort of sums up a lot of our conflicts in life. Isn’t it amazing how small things can point to bigger ones if we’ll pay attention?!
From Seasons of the Soul print edition, Summer 2003