At my house, there is a dishwasher. But I try not to to use it because I don’t like the negatiation process with housemates about unloading it. So I wash dishes by hands. Therefore, I think I’d better like it because there is no other way. And in fact I started to like it.

Last year, I went to a mindfulness retreat sponsored by my college. There, a very mindful and cool brother taught us how he developed more love for dish washing. It goes like this: If you wash the dishes as a chore, you will suffer. You will try to clean as fast as possible to move on to other tasks. You will wash the dishes while thinking about other things. Especially, you will use much force on it. But look, that is irrational – why more force helps? It does nothing but making you more tired. We are just trying to rush. So instead, when you wash the dishes, only wash the dishes. Be normally gentle. And you will actually like washing the dishes. (Also, because I wash under a faucet, the gentle flow of water makes it feel really good.)

He is absolutely one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met. I promised to visit him in Hanoi before going to the US, but I failed to do so. I hope he is still healthy, peaceful, and cool like that.