Does this picture make anyone else laugh? What was your first thought when you saw these dishes stacked this way?
I had asked my, 14 year old daughter to wash the dishes. When I came back in to the kitchen this is what I saw and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Knowing her, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had been creatively arranging the dishes just for fun. Perhaps, in her mind, she was creating a unique piece of art. Or maybe she stacked them in the order she washed them without giving it much thought.
At first impulse it occurred to me to be annoyed because I saw the danger in precariously leaving a sharp, butcher knife on top of what seemed to be an unstable stack of dishes.
When I had the chance to ask her about the dishes later, she replied that she had arranged them in the order she washed and rinsed them and that Dad had given her the cutting board and knife right at the end.
I still am not sure why that is so funny to me, but it made me think of the number of times and ways we might want to insist that something needs to be done in a certain way, our way to be exact; when in reality, it’s not that important. Now if we had little children, unattended and climbing on the counter that might be one thing, but in this situation, how she stacked the dishes to dry really did not matter.
I’ve learned over the years that there is more than one right way to do some things, actually, to do many things. And recognizing that truth, can free us up to experience more joy and fun because we’re not caught up in being right.
I would not have stacked the dishes that way, but my way is not always the best way. Who knows? Maybe her way allowed the dishes to dry faster. At least her way of stacking them gave me a good laugh and who doesn’t need an extra laugh?
I challenge you to look at your day today through new eyes, being open to the possibility that someone else might have a fresher, more innovative way to do something. And if it’s not a better way, well maybe at least it will give you a good laugh.
Love,
