The pleasure of simple things

Sometimes preparing food, washing dishes, doing the laundry, folding, ironing and watering the garden can be real joy. Here's how I do it: I get a portable music device (I am using a mobile phone with mp3 player, but you can use iPod, mp3 player, etc. - no shortage of music sources), load it with some good music and let it shuffle play...
I call it chores-yoga and I really love it.
If your device has enough music on it, from all periods and genres, it can be a real pleasure to let it shuffle and get surprised with a song you forgot you even had in your collection.
I find myself completely isolated from the world, from the news, from any worries, concentrating on the task at hand, enjoying the music and getting work done...
Some people can listen to music while they work. As my work often needs my full attention, I find it too distracting often, but with the daily chores - it is just perfect!
As I write this post, my player just surprsied me now with the "I hear a Rhapsody" played by Bill Evans and Jim Hall from their Undercurrent CD - what a great piece! Can bring me to tears...

Here's a self portrait I made:
















"Self Portrait as a cat" - 2010


You can get the Bill Evans and Jim Hall "Undercurrent CD" from Amazon: