Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Karma Yoga (a.k.a Mowing the Lawn)

Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme. (The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3Tex19)

I don't know about you, but I'm all about the reward!  I can't really think of anything I do without the hope of some kind of payoff.  Take mowing the lawn for instance...

I do it for lots of reasons: it helps alleviate my paranoia that if I don't mow my lawn, my neighbors will think I'm a lazy slob; I like the exercise; I find it meditative; I like being outside; I often have good ideas when I'm doing a mindless task; I like getting a tan; and most of all, it produces what a friend of mine calls a "high visual yield": the fruits of my labor are very apparent and disproportionate to the amount of effort I put out.  

I worked in the yard today.  I hope someone notices.


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