Emptying the dishwasher (if you have one) for example.
Or vacuuming the carpet.
Washing dishes (if you have some) or
Sweeping the floor.

Every time you place a dish back in its place, every spoon nestling, think of one other person. Dedicate each swipe of the broom or sponge to another person.

Perhaps that person is engaged in the same kind of task, feeling impatient. Perhaps that person is homeless in Haiti. Perhaps that person doesn’t have a single spoon or floor.

This way you won’t have to feel agitated, rushing to get these tedious tasks accomplished so you can go on to greater things, to spiritual fulfillment, to philanthropic goals, to connection, belonging.

You can make all that happen as you place the knives back in their drawer. You can connect with your Aunt Mabel who is in the hospital five states away, just by thinking of her while you stack the clean dishes in the cabinet, one by one, quietly, gently.

Your heart can fill. You can be at peace. Your house, organized. Your mind, soothed.

Eve Elliot is a psychotherapist, yoga and meditation teacher. She’s authored five CDs  and several books, including, Attention Shoppers! The Woman’s Guide to Enlightenment Through Shopping. She’s been interviewed over 60 times for TV, magazines, and newspapers including The Boston Globe and has been a sought after expert in the field of eating disorders.