There are a lot of things we dislike.
Where I live, I often here whinging and whining about snow and winter.
“It’s cold!”
“It’s too wet out.”
“I hate shoveling.”
“Winter is too long.”
These are all true.
But they’re — at the same time — very false.
Perception is a powerful skill to cultivate.
Just as much as many, here, may loathe shoveling, so too did I loathe mowing the lawn all spring, summer, and fall.
It’s monotonous.
It’s hot out.
There are bugs.
The clippings and dust cling to your sticky, sweaty skin.
There are annoying trees to work around.
But I’ve also come to appreciate it.
It’s fresh air, outside.
I’m getting sunlight.
People wave and drive by, watching.
I can get a little tan.
There’s a sense of pride in seeing that which you’ve physically done.
There will be many unpleasant and tedious chores and duties you are responsible for.
But, the key is to just do them but to be mindful.
Be present and in the now.
Just because it’s cold right now doesn’t mean after 5 minutes moving snow you won’t feel warm (or in 4 months!).
Enjoy listening to the pfump of snow under your boots. The cluntch of ice.
Mind the animals — chickadees, squirrels, deer — going about their daily work.
Nothing is tedious work…
…Unless you misperceive it to be so.
Shovel.
In the now.
Follow for daily philosophical meditations.
These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”