The story of the dripping tap!

The relationship between two spiritual aspirants can be a little complicated. On the one hand, there is the growing awareness of the way things work, and why they are the way they are and a certain compassion for the challenge of doing the right thing. And on the other hand, there is that crumbling ego that still cannot be tamed effectively at each and every juncture. The play of these two against the other, can cause quite a few fireworks, in good measure.

One instance, is the story of the dripping tap. Its been going on for some weeks now, and its certainly about time we called in the plumber for a fix. Its just one of those things that stay on the to-do list in your mind and never quite make it to the action zone. Anyways, since I am the one that uses this tap in the kitchen, the maximum no. of times during the day, I have been forgetting to shut it tight. To shut it, one needs to push the lever down, and then give it a nice turn to the side, either the right or the left, and no more drops escape. And because of the sheer number of times I use the tap, I have tended to neglect closing it with the required thoroughness. And who should notice that but my dear R, who on the other hand, is quite a thorough man. Whenever he points it out to me, I know that he is right. One should make the conscientious effort every time to not waste a single drop of water. But because it bit my ego blue, I couldn't accept it upfront. Instead, I would argue back that he needs to also be thorough and call the plumber, or else...fix it himself. And on and on this little exchange would go, hiking up the resentment and finger pointing each time. But within my heart I knew what I must do. With a little effort at sweeping the working ego aside, and with a little realignment of perspective, it became clear that the dripping tap was now my teacher. And a good teacher must know where the pupil's weakness lies, and must formulate the lessons to address this precise aspect. Thus with such careful mentoring and practiced discipline, the weakness can actually be overcome and life can move past it.

My weakness is carelessness. I have had it right from when I was a kid. Ask my father and he will tell you about how I have left the iron on in full heat, or set gold earrings in the bathroom, right where it can fall into the drain, or left the kitchen, with the stove still on. In fact, soon after the wedding, one of the first handover notes given by Pops to the mister, included all these little misdemeanors of mine and a warning to be careful with me. So our wedded life began with this one black mark against me. And sad to say, the list has only grown longer, despite the number of years that have been added to my age. It now includes ipods left on the hood of the car and ultimately lost, and credit cards found in the pockets of my pants. And it makes him maaaaaaaaad. And makes me maaaaaaaaad that it makes him maaaaaaaaaad. I hate anyone being mad at me, and I hate giving anyone a cause to complain against me. So strong is my ego, that I can do no wrong.

So anyways, when the shift of perspective happened, as it often does when you are faced with something about yourself, over and over and over again....I found it easy to accept this dripping tap as my teacher, to help me get over, at least in some part, my carelessness. I had to work hard on it. Many a times, I would forget and would rush back to rectify it. But slowly.....slooooowly...I got there. Now, it is an automatic movement of my hand, where I press and then turn, all in one single flow. Not a drop escapes, and the feeling of satisfaction on doing things with a little awareness is awesome. The epitome of my victory was the other day, when I came home from work, and noticed that the tap was leaking, one drop at a time. And before you all conclude that I had left it that way that morning, let me add that it was the day R was working from home, and the moment was right after lunchtime, where he had ample scope to be in the kitchen and use its resources!

Ha! Throwing courtesy out the window, I approached him with the felony and got a sheepish smile in response. Enough said! And now....its time to finally call the plumber!