It's Just a Dishwasher...

On most mornings, we wake up with a store of energy.  Assuming, of course, that we're eating the right foods, getting enough sleep, managing our health and successfully navigating the roller coaster that is our lives.  But when faced with a challenge, it's all too easy to focus energy on things that bother us.

I'll start with my dishwasher.  Many of you know that I'm currently renting a house, waiting for the right house to come up in West Seattle, as the Seattle real estate market is fluctuating wildly.  My rental is a charming little house with many windows.  However, within 1 day of moving in, the dishwasher broke.  The rental management company decided to replace it, as it was very old.  They ordered a new dishwasher, for delivery in 3 weeks.

I took this as an opportunity to appreciate washing my dishes by hand, enjoying the feel of the warm water on my skin and reminding myself that this was temporary and really no big deal.  Sure enough, three weeks later, the dishwasher delivery technicians were at my front door.  They came to look at the existing dishwasher, opened a few cabinets and then made a call.  Something was up.  It turns out that the new dishwasher didn't have the right plumbing for the drain line, and it needed to be either installed by a plumber or a different model should have been ordered. I opted to refuse delivery on this dishwasher and relayed the information back to the management company, asking them to order a different model that would support the existing drain line configuration. 

A week later, the new model dishwasher has been ordered and I'm back to washing dishes by hand and reminding myself to appreciate the fact that I have running water.  Three weeks later (last Wednesday), the second dishwasher delivery is happening and a new set of technicians arrive. They go through the same process:  look at the existing dishwasher, open the cabinets and look underneath.  Then he makes a call.  Déjà vu.  Noooooo!!!!!

But yes, this new model didn't have the right type of drain hose in the back to match the existing configuration.  Again, I try to reach the management company to get their support, again, but no one is available.  After talking with the technician, I decide to accept delivery on this dishwasher and have the management company send a plumber.  The technicians leave the new dishwasher in the living room, and by this time, I am fuming.  Six weeks have passed.  I create with all sorts of drama stories in my head and go to bed exhausted.

So what does a dishwasher have to do with energy? More than I would like to admit. 

I used to coach artists.  One of the topics we often talked about was managing energy as a way to stay connected with inspiration.  When one is exhausted, there's rarely any type of inspiration.  I used the analogy of waking up every morning with $100 worth of energy. 

It is the artist's job to manage how they spent their energy.  They could use it to take good care of their bodies, have a regular art practice, and enjoy their loved ones.  Or, they could use it to get angry at the gallery that said no, get frustrated with the artwork they're making that's less successful, or continue to stew over a roommate that left dirty dishes in the sink.  It's all the same energy to spend, but the results are vastly different.

Looking back at my dishwasher experience, I found myself fuming about how the management company should be more on top of things,  that not having a dishwasher was beginning to get old.  But I now see I was spending my precious energy on something over which I had no control (remember honking man?).  I went to bed that night absolutely drained because I had obsessed over this dishwasher that had yet to be installed.  Looking forward with a sager mindset, I decided to refocus my attention on things over which I have control (like writing this story and doing the dishes).  At some point in time, the dishwasher will get installed.

This was such a good reminder for me to watch how I choose to direct my attention.  The dishwasher experience is lasting much longer than I wanted it to, but look at the benefits: I will soon have a fancy new dishwasher in my kitchen, I now have a great dishwasher story, and I was reminded to be more careful on how I spend my energy dollars.  Win-win-win!