Message of the Day - The Self-Cleaning Mess

Good Morning,

 

As I was retiring for the evening last night, I went to use the girl's bathroom for a tissue as our bathroom was otherwise occupied. In going in, I saw our daughter's beta fish and noticed the water looked clean as if it had not eaten, so I opened the fish food and saw the container was half empty, where last evening it was mostly full. Then on the floor was the pile of fish food laying there in a sort of neat pile.

 

When I went to get an envelop to scoop it up, I was told that this mess was created by the cats last evening and this pile of fish food had remained, untouched, mind you, for a full 24 hours or so.

 

I mused over my daughters both using the bathroom mirror in the morning, as they do most days, now both trying to avoid stepping in or disturbing the pile of fish food on the center of the floor.

 

Next I thought about the Self-Cleaning mess, and what a great idea that would be to have all messes be able to clean themselves up without any help from us. If we spill some sauce, no problem, the mess cleans itself. If we track mud onto the carpet, no worries, the mess cleans itself up. Then, of course, my mind wandered to the problems and challenges in our lives, and having a self cleaning mess.

 

That thought scared me.

 

If messes cleaned themselves up, then there would be no incentive to learn from our mistakes, they would just be cleaned up and we could move on as if nothing had happened. Why bother trying to do something right, the mess would take care of itself. While it sounds like fun, we would become incompetent people, relying on something else to take care of our mistakes and overcome our challenges.

 

No thank you. In fact, thank you for that mess that I can clean up. That I can learn from. Thank you!

 

I am a better person because I have cleaned up my messes, and sometimes those of others (you folks in my neighborhood tossing the empty soda cans on the street, I am on to you).

 

The Scooper attitude (reference The Dog Poop Initiative by Kirk Weisler) kicked in when I saw the mess on the floor and well, the mess was cleaned up. Of course, the pile of fish food is now sitting on an envelope awaiting further instructions from the boss of the house (aka my wife, Karen who turned very sour at hearing this message as her instructions to the girls in the morning were not heeded). I guess that is a mess for another day.

 

Enjoy cleaning up the messes in our lives.

 

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
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