I grew up with quick access to an algae and moss covered creek down the hill, so I should be accustomed to gross things, but even still I often find myself in situations that make me grimace.  Anything gooey and slimy, especially in the area of dish washing, is cause enough for an unpleasant face or a scrunched up nose.  All for what?

How often do you hear a teenage girl shrieking “OMG ewwww.  that is SOOO gross!”?  I usually find it comical because that is usually something minor or common, like a zit on someone’s face.  Yet, it begs the question: am I disgusted by trite things as well?

I hope not.  I really hope not; do you realize how much stress and energy has to go into the behavior of being grossed out?  It’s actually a pretty strenuous activity.   Is that really the best way to spend your focus and energy for the day?

No.  Make your life easier & just accept things like a moldy piece of bread or a grody looking dish left in the sink.  Yes, gross things are not ideal…no one enjoys them, but that doesn’t mean you should waste your time or energy worrying about them either.  

The reason I’m writing about this is the fact that I believe that what we thing of as disgusting is a reflection of a much broader issue: our value set.  Dirt and goo and slime are all pretty unpleasant things, but they are also quite easily washed off and remedied.  Have you ever had greasy messy meal that involved 25 napkins?  We continue to clean our hands, only to get them dirty again, only to clean them again and get them dirty again.  Yet, at the end of the meal, it just takes one quick handwash to get yourself back to normal.

Most of the unpleasant moments that we worry about on a given day are temporary & short-lived.  Yet, the truly disgusting truths are more easily ignored.  We should be worrying about the treatment of people in developing countries or the ‘gross’ damage done to the environment by gas guzzlers every single day.

While it is difficult, try not to let the little things get to you.  Just wash up & move on.

~ Bryan