Digressions: My Life in 500 Words or Less

Every now and then the act of performing a simple task can be an enlightening experience. In the past couple of weeks I’ve been performing a household chore that fit the bill.

The task doesn’t have to be done but a few times a year, but every so often I have to clean lime buildup from our dogs’ stainless steel water bowls. It takes a steel pad to scrape it off.

Recently I discovered the invaluable benefit of white vinegar in this cleaning task. It literally changed the game by loosening the lime and making the steel pads much more effective.

Wednesday, as I finished cleaning the last two of the six water bowls (yes, we have doggie water bowls all over the house), I thought about what I was doing and why. The buildup represents the natural result of keeping water in the bowls. Yet such buildup is somewhat distracting and undeniably unsightly.

This made me think about how life is like that, too. We acquire a buildup of extraneous material as we move toward our goals, unnecessary byproducts of living that cling to our minds and souls that become distracting.

The longer we let this buildup collect, the more difficult it might be to remove and the longer it can take to do so. And we need to remove that buildup.

Though it is natural to gather extraneous material as we move through life, it can be distracting. And it can divert our focus.

All this made sense to me, as did the realization that we remove this buildup a variety of ways. For me, weekly home karaoke nights with Rebecca are a big help in this respect. These sessions work off a little of the buildup of the past week.

Planned or spontaneous activities with loves ones are also helpful. That includes in-person and video gatherings with family and friends.

On a larger scale is an annual trip Rebecca and I take to go camping and fishing at Land Between the Lakes. I’ve always felt this trip re-invigorated me, and now I believe I know why.

Going on this trip with Rebecca clears out a lot of the buildup in my life. It is the steel wool pad and vinegar that dissolves the distractions so I can focus on my journey.

I’ll take that task any day.