may 2

JOURNAL TOPIC: (* after you write in your journal, please post today's entry as a comment to this post.*)
Tomorrow morning the garbage trucks come. Tonight I will perform the rituals of Garbage Day Eve: I will collect the trash from all the wastebaskets in the house, I will cinch up the big garbage bags from the kitchen, laundry room, and garage and put them in the garbage cans, and I will roll the garbage cans to the curb.  These tasks aren't necessarily the sort of thing a kid dreams about doing when he grows up, and no one is paying me to do these things or even giving me a grade.  So why do I bother?  A few reasons: 1) I don't want the smell, bacteria, mess, or insect/rodent infestation that comes with an accumulation of garbage in my house; 2) I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning with a start and race to beat the garbage truck; and, most importantly, 3) over time I have taken a great deal of pride in maintaining my home.  I learned a lot about #3 when I was in Tibet and watched the Buddhist monks care for their monastery.  (That was also the trip where I learned to truly love washing dishes -- to this day, there is something about a clean kitchen that makes me really happy.)

What tasks in your life are necessary but not necessarily appealing?  What do you do that gives you a sense of accomplishing something difficult, or the sense of ease that comes with being organized, or just the sense of relief at getting something unpleasant out of the way?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece meetings
3. Masterpiece calendar
4. Check in re: tomorrow and Friday
5. Continue in Fahrenheit 451
6. Read 180