Dust

I’m thinking about dust this morning. My neighbours at Encounter World Religions are expecting visitors and spent yesterday dusting their office. It took a very long time and a whole lot of spray product to bring that space into pristine condition. The pictures in this photo gallery will give you an idea of just what a challenge it was!

I realize, as I’ve been pondering, that attitudes and perspectives on dust can vary. There are people who live with a mental white glove with which they test every surface for traces of the stuff. Manners preclude actually drawing a finger through the dust on the shelf or the coffee table, but you know they really want to. My mother was one of those people and she certainly taught me well. As a child with a duster I learned the exact routine and was regularly assigned that task of ridding our living space of any speck of the dastardly stuff.

For some unknown reason, while the routines were well learned, the attitude never really stuck. Here’s a poem I wrote as a class assignment once. You’ll see I don’t get nearly as irritated over dust as did my mother.

This is the place ...
where all the dust is my own.
It mingles in swirls with the hair
from my very own cat,
and rolls through the sun beam
in lovely lazy waves across the floor.
Every book in every pile on every chair is mine
and waits with ultimate patience
for my attention.
The pleasant fragrance of the most expensive incense
blends charmingly with essence of kitty.
The tea steeps in the hand painted little treasured pot
and the dishes soak in silence—
there is time.
Time to catch the elusive thought
that might have escaped in some other space.
Not mine.

Yet again I realize I’m thinking about differences. We really are not the same, are we? Just as there are cat people and dog people, tea people and coffee people, there are those who’d rather sit and think for a bit, while others can’t abide looking at all this dust! I look very like my mother. In some ways we are very, very alike. And yet, regarding dust we are worlds apart.

Encounter explores the world’s religions. They think about how human beings are the same and how they are different. They help create peace in the world by bringing understanding and surprise as we open ourselves to our similarities and our differences. You might want to check them out here: Encounter's wonderful website

Posted by Marion