Hatti McKenzie, sweeping changes and floodgates

1. Every Friday I have the good fortune to meet with my friend Hatti McKenzie to discuss document management systems. You can imagine, the hours just fly by. We also get to touch base about her other passion in brief which is art. Her work which I've only seen on the web so far is pretty amazing I think. She often describes the next project she's working on and they always seem so amazingly adventurous and exciting. This week she had come back from Glastonbury where I think she'd not only enjoyed the music but also done some installation work. Hatti is an inspiration and a beauty.

2. At the end of the working day I was inspired to scurry home and clean for Yorkshire. I spent and fairly happy evening, dusting, cleaning, changing the beds, turning the mattresses, polishing the brass (joke) and doing he laundry and ironing. I used to really love doing the housework and people would buy me equipment like my beautiful red metal dustpan and brush or a square of scrim or a book of advice like Margaret Horsfield's "Biting the dust" or "Sweeping Changes: Zen and the Art of Household Maintenance" by Gary Thorp. Both books are must reads for any aspiring fastidious house-husband (or wife if they still exist). These days, having achieved a certain level of enlightenment, in a Buddha-like state, sat under a Bodhi Tree (in my case in the sun room with my laptop and MSN blinking), I look around me a say "Oh so many Buddha's", which is sometimes a shock for Mr Tumnus because he is often the only other sentient being in there...My grip on tidy preoccupation has been slipping. So it was as if my cleaning woman mojo suddenly and usefully returned and at the end of the evening, Three episodes of Dexter on, I had done three-quarters of the ironing and the house was slightly less dusty. Spiritual and domestic bliss.

3. He-who-shall-not-be-named skillfully aided me in breaking the small pretense I manage at being clear and in control of my emotions. A little comment made (probably in innocence and fun) and I took effect immediately, and was about to run off in what he rightly described as "a huff", when I took a quick stock take and agreed I was pretty silly to allow myself the indulgence of thinking that I was hurt by his quip. As He-who-shall-not-be-named, the Lord Voldermort of my MSN list so clearly established we are not real friends just on-line acquaintances....it seemed harsh at the time but it's absolutely accurate. A good lesson for me this day. I've discussed my tendency to 'blurt' before, but perhaps worse (if that's the right descriptor) is to imagine that everyone I meet is my friend. There is a line in a Snow Patrol song "Spitting Games" that resonated with me from the very first moment I heard it. I think the bloke might be singing about being high on ecstasy of course, but never-the-less I feel something for just about everybody however unrealistic. Everyday I'm happy to say there is some moment of satori, could be a painting of Hatti's or cleaning up after a meal or chatting to a stranger and as Mr Snow Patrol sings...."after that the floodgates opened up and I fell in love with everyone I saw..."