Leisure talk: Sweeping the house in the morning

Sweeping the house may not seem like much fun, but if you pay attention, it's fun. After a night, the house looks normal at first glance, but if you hold a broom and poke into the corners, you'll see dust, cobwebs, even mouse and lizard droppings, a few strands of hair... While cleaning, check the plugs and power cords for any misalignment, mouse bites, or short circuits.

Every morning when I sweep the house, what I like most is cleaning the kitchen. First, I check the food from last night. The braised fish is still in the small pan, I turn on the fire to reheat it, the fish sauce is boiling and fragrant. The rice is still in the electric pot, I have to scoop it out, if there is too much it will be lunch for the dogs, if there is not enough I spread it out and wait for the sun to dry, if there is not enough I will throw it over the fence for the neighbor's chickens. Next, the pot is washed, turned upside down to wait for lunch. The spice tray is always full and has little dust. There is no rotten onion or garlic because it is scooped up and checked almost every day.

Just like that, every corner of the room, the cupboard, the table and chairs, the flower pots or even the motorbike ramp are all adjusted to be pleasing to the eye. While I do these seemingly ordinary things, the outside gradually turns pink, the air is cool because it is still wet with dew, the smell of food rises as if I am back to my childhood, often following my mother to visit the fields early in the morning. Looking at the neat house in the morning is no different from seeing the fields of green rice in a new day. It is extremely pleasant.

Sometimes when I do a general cleaning of the house, I will definitely find a lost earring, a curling iron or some rusty bobby pins. It is also fun to see a hand-embroidered item that is both familiar and strange, and I am reminded of when I got it...

Mr. Dominique Loreau, author of a book on stress published in France, surprised the public when he concluded that doing housework can help people reduce stress. Many other studies have also shown that a clean house makes us feel refreshed, like our brains have been cleaned. If you have not found a way to start a new day with excitement and energy, sweeping the floor is a solution that is both useful and effective.

Cleaning for me, and perhaps for many people, is not simply a duty. Tidying up the nearest small space is a way to practice having a proactive and profound life. While cleaning, I often feel more attached to my family, the space around me, seeing everything constantly moving, changing, disappearing and then appearing again. From there, the senses are awakened, emotions are nourished by simple things like discovering that the pet dogs have reached the shedding season, the neighbor went to the market a little early today, or whether the old lady next door had a fever last night, why hasn't she woken up to pile leaves to make a fire...

Just sweeping the house is a small job but I feel like I can live, love, be responsible, and be close to life.