Over the past two years, one of the things I’ve thought about the most is: “If not me than who.”  Since that is a phrase that can be endlessly interpreted for an equally endless variety of reasons, I’m going to leave it at that. But, I will share my version of a favorite Zen tale.

One day a woman decided to find peace by going to a retreat at a monastery. As you might imagine, she arrived with all kinds of expectations about the enlightenment she expected to gain from the experience. After settling in, to her simple room, she was told to head to the meditation hall. Right out side the entrance she saw a mop shoved in a pail of very dirty water. It surprised her that someone could be so careless by leaving it there. The next day, she returned to the hall again, only to see the same dirty mop and pail. She wondered why would someone not clean this up. The third day, the mop and pail were still there and worse, it appeared to have been kicked as some of the dirty water was on the floor, causing her slippers to get wet. Now annoyed, she wondered: How could someone be so rude?  Day four and five were much the same as the pail and mop remained outside the hall, and she thought: This is ridiculous. Someone should clean this up. On day six, she cleaned up the spill and picked up the pail and mop, putting them back in the nearby closet where they belonged. “It is time for someone to take care of this,” she thought, “and I am someone.”

I’m @DianGriesel aka a perception analyst & strategist; creative attitude disrupter & adjuster; author of The Silver Disobedience Playbook & TurboCharged: The Silver Disobedience Edition; and the blogger & model known as @SilverDisobedience  More info on my websites (search my name) and at Wilhelmina Models. Silver Disobedience® is a Registered Trademark.