Campus Ministry

By Mary Niebler (she/her/hers) Assistant Director of the Center for Social Concern

When the academic year ends and schedules change, other daily rituals, such as prayer or spiritual time, may slip from mind and habit. We must remember that God is not confined to the walls of the church or a schedule, as the walls of creation are infinite. 

And as the busyness of my life at home in the summer increases, with three kids and many activities to manage, I try to turn to the wisdom of the late Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn. In his book, Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Hahn beautifully encourages finding peace, prayer, and contentment in every aspect of life, even the seemingly mundane. 

I love his reflection on washing dishes:

“To my mind, the idea that doing dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you aren’t doing them. Once you are standing in front of the sink with your sleeves rolled up and your hands in the warm water, it is really quite pleasant. I enjoy taking my time with each dish, being fully aware of the dish, the water, and each movement of my hands. I know that if I hurry in order to eat dessert sooner, the time of washing dishes will be unpleasant and not worth living. That would be a pity, for each minute, each second of life is a miracle. The dishes themselves and the fact that I am here washing them are miracles!...

Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred. In this light, no boundary exists between the sacred and the profane. I must confess it takes me a bit longer to do the dishes, but I live fully in every moment, and I am happy. Washing the dishes is at the same time a means and an end—that is, not only do we do the dishes in order to have clean dishes, we also do the dishes just to do the dishes, to live fully in each moment while washing them.”

Imagine being in the moment of living, truly appreciating life itself. This is a practice that takes work and time, I constantly have to reread the wisdom and teaching to remind myself to slow down. But, through slowing down and treasuring the gift of doing everyday things, I learn to appreciate the gift of life, of family, of home, and of creation. 

In our hurry up society of more, more, more, it is easy to rush from task to task without ever taking time to reflect, pray, enjoy, and breathe. Since there is often much to do, which we often use as an excuse to not grow closer to one another, ourselves, and God, by following Hahn’s teaching to just “do,” we can alter the narrative to finding peace and closeness in the simple tasks of living.  Do what is before us, whether that is conversing, walking, cleaning, playing, reading, working. In that doing, we can grow in a greater understanding of the miracle of our humanity.