Only a Brainless Idiot Would Do a Mindless Task

©Beth Austin, 2001

I was driving into town with an acquaintance of mine when we were stopped at some road works. You really have to understand about New Zealand roads to know why we were stopped.

Almost all roads in New Zealand, even some major highways, are narrow, two-lane (that's one lane each way), winding, undulating tracks which follow the contours of the land. Scenic, yes. But when it's time to repair them, it means that one lane must be kept open for traffic. Often a particular road is the only way to get from point A to point B, so no detour is available and closing it off to traffic is not an option.

Enter good old kiwi ingenuity and you have a team of two road workers hooked up by walkie-talkie to control the flow of traffic. One is stationed at either end of the bottleneck. They each have a sign mounted on a pole. One side of the sign is green and says Go, the other side is red and says Stop.

Often you can't see if the way is clear of oncoming traffic because of a curve or a hill. It is vitally important that the team coordinate their signals, so that all traffic travelling in one direction has passed through before traffic from the other direction is waved on. If traffic is heavy they have to make sure it doesn't back up too far in one direction.

While we were stopped my acquaintance commented that she wondered just how intelligent those workers could be. That really miffed me. Notice that I call this person an acquaintance, not a friend. My friends wouldn't look down their noses at someone and assume they are brainless because they are doing a mindless task.

A mindless task, maybe, but an important one. There are many such tasks that are repetitive and don't stretch your intellect. Housework is a classic example. These tasks must be done with care and intent or the effects can be debilitating, not only to the one performing the task, but also to those depending on it being done properly.

I am only a dilettante with Zen, but I'll paraphrase a very famous koan which sums up my thoughts on the matter.

Before enlightenment, sweep the floor. After enlightenment, sweep the floor.