The Power of Just Do It
All the utensils of the monastery and in fact everything that belongs to the monastery should be cared for as though they were the sacred vessels of the altar.
Many years ago, I worked for a manufacturing company and taught Lean 6-Sigma. The aim of Lean 6-Sigma was to get rank and file employees to think differently about their day-to-day work. The company hoped this training would improve efficiency, productivity and ultimately profits. The company wanted results.
Basically this Lean 6-Sigma is a method for sorting, cleaning, and organizing stuff. It was an attempt to teach employees to take care of their workplace (monastery). The program had limited success. One of the limitations was that it required people to change for the benefit of the company which did not translate easily as a benefit for the employee. On the contrary, it cost the employee since it required a great deal more work.
Benedict asks his monks to care for the utensils in the monastery as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar. In essence telling them to care for the stuff of the monastery as if they were the utensils that had actually held God…patens and chalices. This seems to be a powerful motivator for care. Or is it? Is it the same as our earlier quote on humility and obedience for Christ? We don’t do things even for or in the name of God.
As a trainer, I couldn’t use Benedict’s motivator. I was too timid to explain what I really thought was the true motivation. For as long as I can remember I’ve had a mantra for actions I take…do it, because it matters. What I mean is to do whatever I do with my whole heart and not because of someone else’s expectations. Doing something with a whole heart means not to judge the results. It requires a removal of the doer (me) who often wants to take action for something, for some goal or reason. To take care of things as sacred is an empty willingness (no will for me) to do the next thing. No will is without a for your good. There is no judgment for or against.
Now, this rests on knowing that everything matters knowing everything is of the unborn, undying nature. Cleaning up the clutter on my desk, organizing and prioritizing work, recycling paper, filing instead of piling. All these things matter not because a company thinks it will make me more efficient or productive or because Benedict says so. Things matter because the vast inconceivable source that can’t be faced or turned away from is right here, right now. But getting here to this very high level requires practice. We may first need to unify the mind. We do that through concentration, a power of the mind.
A concentration practice involves interaction with the things of our lives. I am hand sewing a quilt. I see it as a concentration practice. When I started I thought that what I needed to concentrate on was the sewing. I’ve learned that the concentration needs to extend far beyond the sewing. Measuring and cutting cloth needs concentration. Setting up all my work tools requires concentration. Keeping track of pins and needles needs concentrated effort. Putting things away after working requires concentration. It is a steady power, a strong stream of concentration, unbroken.
Concentration settles the mind. When we experience a settled mind we are free of judgment, blame, fear and worry. In concentration we open and like that sweet St. Kevin we are alone mirror’d clear in love’s deep river. Where we can take care of stuff and not seek reward.
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