Our bathroom sink kept making those gurgling noises. You know that delayed, gulp sound because water takes too long to drain.
I heard it happening weeks ago. Yet, I ignored it.
The early warning signs were there, but it didn’t feel like a priority. I kept pushing it to the back of my mind and thought, “I will deal with it when it is a big enough problem.”
This weekend, I caught myself in this thought loop again and paused to ask with kindness and curiosity: ”What was I waiting for?” For the pipe to explode? For the whole sink to malfunction? What was a big enough problem?
Why was I waiting for something big to happen to take action?
It made me realize how often we, humans, get into this thought loop where we see the early signs of stress or anxiety showing up in our life, but we choose to look the other way. We don’t make it or ourselves a priority.
For instance, we might have months of digestional tract issues and ignore the signs of anxiety or food sensitivities the body is responding to. Or we are waking up in the middle of the night for multiple weeks, ruminating over a recent relationship stressor instead of facing it head-on.
As I stood in the bathroom looking down at the drain, I said to myself. This ends today.
I grabbed the drain snake, a bowl, vinegar, and baking soda and went to work. I cleaned and unclogged the drain in 15 minutes.
I‘ll spare you the details of how disgusting it was, but it was also tremendously satisfying. Turning on the faucet and hearing the water flow smoothly down the drain was music to my ears.
It felt empowering to give the house some love and to face the stressor I had been resisting for weeks. And best of all, unclogging the drain took less time and energy than my mind thought.
I didn’t need to build a story in my mind that it would be a horrible experience and cause a big mess and ruin my weekend. Instead, I was reminded how giving care and attention feels pleasant.
I welcome you this month to explore, where in your life might there be a “clogged sink” you are ignoring?
What would it be like to lovingly acknowledge those clogged sinks before they get too backed up?
If you were to take one tiny action step this month to unclog one sink, what would it be? Share with me here.