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Meaning in the Mundane

Meaning in the Mundane

how to derive lessons from everyday activies

ben richardson
August 05, 2024

_{Writing to you today from an idyllic little town in Utah situated strategically at the mouth of a small canyon. Here, each night at dusk, a cool breeze washes down from the mountains bringing relief to the sun-drenched valley and refreshment to neighborhood residents taking evening strolls.}

For one resident here, life hasn’t felt so idyllic.

It’s been a hard year.

One year ago, her spouse passed away.

Despite her best efforts, the hedges and shrubs in her yard have not been trimmed this season and were starting to show it.

An Intervention

We’ve been staying with Grandma for a week already and it was time to get to work.

Today we got the kids up at 6:30 am to trim and prune those overgrown hedges and shrubs.

Many kids and families would begrudge this early morning activity.

We found it to be a very positive experience with lots of lessons learned.

Here are some things we learned from this family project at sunrise.

A work in progress—thanks to four grandkids who were willing to get up early.

When you work together, work can be enjoyable, even if it is uncomfortable or unpleasant in the moment.
The sense of accomplishment of completing a challenging task is reward enough.
Starting early allowed us to beat the heat of the afternoon sun and made the work much more pleasant.
Everyone doing separate, coordinated tasks allows us to work as a team.
When we work first, we can play later.
That pruning is necessary for proper tree and shrub growth even though it can look like you are cutting them down in the moment.
We learned how starting early allowed us to get the work done without the worry of being stung because we observed that wasps go to bed early and sleep late.
We also learned that direct and clear communication of expectations is not necessarily a negative, but the ultimate positive, even though the feeling of conflict can be uncomfortable in the moment.
How to safely exterminate 10+ wasp nests this morning.
Working with intentionality and purpose allows you to accomplish the task in at least half the time.