We know we should do one thing at a time. When chopping onions, for instance, it’s best to chop with the whole mind, and not talk on the phone or listen to the radio. We also know it’s best to dispense with all those “shoulds” hanging around–they don’t uplift us, do they? No, “shoulds” tear us down.

But I should not have cooked seven organic eggs in water over a flame for seven hours last night. I could have done some serious harm. Where was my head? I’ll tell you where: I was cleaning the kitchen, watching the tail-end of the “The Sopranos,” and making a list of things to do, all at the same time. Then, in hopes of getting ahead on the packing of Monday’s lunch for the boys, I thought at ten pm (just before checking my email) that a serving of egg salad in each thermos would be nice. How smart of me to start the project then! And when I lit the flame under the pot, I actually thought: mustn’t forget. Then I did. And I awoke this morning a little before five to the most peculiar charcoal smell. What? Was my neighbor at his barbeque at this hour?

Strange how the mind works. Or fails to stay present until called to clean up a large mess. Thank goodness I’d gotten rid of all my Teflon pans. The fumes from an overnight burn like that would have killed our parakeets for sure. But the flame on last night’s pot was on so low that the fumes never even stirred our smoke alarm. But now, I’ve got charred Farberware, and exploded egg shards on the floor, refrigerator, and kitchen walls. And there’s a burned egg smell deep in the rugs. My hands and hair smell like smoke even now.

The lessons: Wake up, and then, once your reality is fathomed, hold no shame. I initially thought, ‘Oh, my readers needn’t know everything. A blogger covering meditative practice “should” be more aware, right?’ But then I found a whole series of blog posts written by people who’ve burned their hard-boiled eggs down to nothing too! So I am not alone. My pal Laura, who cooks all the time, says, “Once you burn eggs, you’ll never burn them again.”

Do you multi-task? Teachers as varied as Shunryu Suzuki, Suze Orman, and Waverly Fitzgerald believe life is best savored one moment, one task, at a time. Can you go a week driving the car without the radio? Can you knit without music or TV? Can you walk without a cell phone at your ear? Can you shake a person’s hand without worrying how you look?

Photo by geishaboy500