As was the case for many in my generation, I grew up in a household without a dishwasher. Which is to say, I was pretty much the human dishwasher during my formative years.
I washed, my younger brother dried. A future engineer, he often found my efforts wanting. “You didn’t get all the dried mashed potatoes off this pan,” he would say, plopping the offending pot back into the water.
Naturally, many arguments ensued, though I was seldom the winner. Evidence, after all, is evidence. Nothing left to do but scrub the pot to my brother’s satisfaction, drain the sink and stalk off, sullen and scheming as to how I could possibly convince our mother that my brother and I should reverse our roles.
Yes, dishwashing was and is a loathsome task — or so I thought until, not long ago, I read otherwise. For, according to a recent study, washing dishes can actually lessen stress — but only if done in the right frame of mind.
In the study, as reported by Time.com, Florida State researchers took 51 students, divided them more or less in half, and had them read a short passage before they began washing the dishes. Half the students read a rather ho-hum description about dishwashing. The other half read what was described as a “mindful” passage. Excerpt: “ ... washing is a wondrous reality. I’m being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There’s no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.”
What, no “Ommmmm”?
Smirk and sneer all you want, but according to the researchers, those who “mindfully” smelled the soap, felt the water and touched the dishes increased their inspiration level by 25 percent and lowered their nervousness by 27 percent. Meanwhile, the nonmindful bunch gained little but dishpan hands after slopping around in the suds.
Though tiny in scope, the study, reported Time, led researchers to suggest “that mindfulness could be achieved in a variety of common activities and possibly reduce stress and improve psychological well-being.”
OK, I’ll bite. Here are some common situations where we might all reduce our stress and improve our well-being through mindfulness:
Voice mail jail: Do not be annoyed that “your call will be answered in approximately 13 minutes.” Instead, focus on the dulcet tones of your robotic assistant assuring you every 30 seconds that “your call is important to us,” even as you joyously succumb to the hypnotic, repetitive strains of “Blame It on the Bossa Nova.”
Renewing your driver’s license: Observe and then be captivated by the line snaking out the door, as in performance art! Dissolve all tensions and hesitations as you become one with the line, now swooping forward, now gliding sideways, as mystical government workers seamlessly guide you toward the right windows in just a matter of hours. And when it’s all over, you will have a lasting memento of your visit: a flattering photograph all yours to keep and treasure in your very own wallet.
A visit to the doctor’s: Relish, instead of rue, the hunt through your wallet for your insurance cards at the sign-in desk, all the while mindfully ignoring the coughs and sneezing of the person behind you. Then cool off in a delightfully invigorating, 62-degree waiting room while thumbing through an insightful September 1988 issue of Field & Stream. Who knows — you may indeed need to know someday how to field dress a deer.
Getting caught in a traffic jam: Zap down the windows, all the better to capture the cacophony of honking horns, crying babies and “gangsta rap.” Concentrate on learning some new lyrics sure to impress and delight your grandmother. Then educate yourself on past and current politics by memorizing the bumper stickers on the pickup truck in front of you. If one of them reads, “Not a gun-free zone,” keep repeating the mantra: “Being stuck here is a wondrous reality.”
Oh, um, you might also “mindfully” keep that foot on the brake.
