I have very recently been placed in a state of “furlough” by my employer. In effect, this means that I can stay at home for the next two months instead of going to work. My first thought was to look on this as a gift from the gods, but then caution tapped on my shoulder and urged me to give the situation some consideration.
What about karma, I thought, and reaping what we sow? In my experience, instances of undeserved good fortune are quite often followed by an unanticipated bill. There could be a price to pay for this windfall beyond which I would have been better off going to work, it occurred to me. I decided to mitigate the risk by turning my free holyday into a working one.
There are countless little jobs that have accumulated here at home that would easily keep me occupied for the next two months, especially at the speed I usually work. To fully appease the forces of karma it might be wise to offer my labour for the benefit of others, but even labour for one’s own benefit is still labour, and work -we are led to believe- is a noble pursuit. I am cautiously optimistic about getting away with it, and, if challenged by the gods, am reasonably confident in my ability to present it as an acceptable compromise.
It is still early days and I have always been a slow starter, so I am not unduly concerned about my modest achievements so far. In truth, I have as yet only cleaned the little drawer in my washing machine, where the fabric conditioner goes. In my defense, however, what I found behind the drawer once it had been removed did cause me to take some time out to recover from. I still don’t really know what the black stuff was, or if it was alive.
Anyway, all the black stuff is gone now, and I feel better for it, although I am still plagued with thoughts of what influence it might have had on my laundry. Actually, this is a good example of how work can all too often lead to more work, and justifies my policy of avoiding it. I will probably now feel that I have to remove and wipe down the drawer after every wash. That could go on for
weeks before I let it lapse and go back to neglecting it again. This is what I meant about there always being a price to pay; it’s started already.
Getting what we deserve
Re: Getting what we deserve
Miss you, Harbal. Surprised you're not here more often when there is so much idiocy to observe and have insights about. It, too, is like something black that grows from dark corners and spreads like a relentless and unchecked fungus. But, perhaps that would be too unsettling to deal with too.
Sometimes the best solution is to step back and let it consume itself for a bit. I don't think that would happen for your washing machine goo though... so it was good you got right on that when you found it.
