Here in India I often wash my clothes in a bucket, by hand. It takes some effort – rubbing and squeezing and seemingly endless wringing. Sometimes my hands feel sore by the time the clothes are clean. In contrast, the drying of the clothes couldn’t be more effortless. Hung up in the Indian sun, often with a breeze to assist, the clothes simply dry themselves.
It strikes me that this washing and drying of clothes is an analogy for stages on the spiritual journey. To begin with, we need to make a huge effort, throwing all our energy into the endeavour, reading, listening to teachings, contemplating, meditating: we need to use discipline. During this stage, even if we don’t realise it, there is a cleansing happening, a cleansing of our soul. At some point though, we reach a point of no return. And from there, we can simply relax into the flow, allowing the sun and the wind to carry us the rest of the way, effortlessly.
