The nature of laundry is this- IT IS NEVER ENDING.  I could just leave it at that and I think all would agree with me, but I can’t ever leave a simple topic completely alone.  I must ponder it, and wonder about it, and mull over it; until all angles have been reviewed thoroughly.  Then I formulate a conclusion.  Then, and only then, do I send it out to the masses, for you to agree or disagree, or say “who cares!”.

So what I found when pondering and wondering and mulling about laundry is that it is a cyclical entity.  And I do mean an entity, because of all the household chores, it seems to me that Laundry has a life of it’s own! (Notice the capital L for Laundry.  It is definitely warranted I believe.)

How is it cyclical you might ask, or maybe you are nodding your head in agreement right now. Well, the way I see it, Laundry can never all be clean at one time.  Unless of course you and all your family members are naked during the whole process of laundering.  And even then, you would still have sheets on the bed, possibly towels in the kitchen or bathroom that are being used.  Something would definitely have to be dirty.  The only way I see to escape it is for all family members to lie unclothed on a floor and do nothing during the whole entire laundering process!  And while you might think that is possible, it certainly doesn’t seem pretty.

So due to the fact that naked laundering is probably not happening in most households, Laundry is cyclical.  (And by the way, even if it were so, you would eventually have to put some clothes on to leave the house, thus dirtying something!)  At all times there is more Laundry being created by the one who is doing the Laundry, and probably multiple others who are simply innocent laundering bystanders!

This fact used to frustrate me to no end, (still does a bit).  I couldn’t stand that all the clothes couldn’t be clean at once.  Hmmmm, seems like I might be overthinking a little, doesn’t it?  Something tells me though, that I am not the only one who has this dilemma.  So I had to make peace with it, or else Laundry would get the best of me.  So I came up with the idea that Laundry is cyclical.

Well, I LOVE cyclical ideas.  It reminds me of circles, which I also love.  Circles in turn remind me of mandalas, which I believe to be beautiful.  Mandalas remind me of Tibetan monks creating them in sand, one grain at a time.  And Tibetan monks remind me of Peace, with a captial P.  Peace is what I seek in the day to day of life, and truly I can’t think of anything more day to day than Laundry.  It is always there in some stage of completion, either in hampers to wash, in washers washing, in dryers drying, or waiting in endless piles to be folded.  There is even some doing that right now in my very home, directly behind me as a matter of fact!

This view of Laundry brought me Peace.  Peace in the consistent, cyclical nature of Laundry.  Peace in the idea that it can always get done.  Peace in the idea that it withstands all changes and transitions.  No matter what, Laundry will remain in its ever changing, yet consistent form.

The nature of Laundry is this- it is always the same, and sometimes that idea is just nice.