"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'" - Martin Luther King, Jr
This quote strikes to the very heart of our practice, I think. Whatever we are doing, that is the most important thing we have ever done. It's hard to imagine that scrubbing the dojo mats could be that important, but it is a part of your training and you will only understand the importance of it if you approach it with the same sense of importance as Michelangelo approached his canvas.
After all, you can only be noble in this moment. Imagine if you approached each moment like it truly mattered, like it was the last mat you would ever scrub or the last hug you would ever give or the last dinner you would ever prepare. Because it's not about a clean mat. It's about showing up for life and living the absolute hell out each miraculous day we're given, no matter what the task is. Show up. Make it count.
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