The Spiritual Nature of Plumbing.

Plumbing

“My plumbing is all screwed up. Because it turns out, I do not own a garbage disposal.”

                                        Demetri Martin

My plumbing is all screwed up. I live in an old neighborhood in an old part of the city. There are giant trees in my yard and in every other yard around me. And, since I'm sure you're already fascinated, the plumbing pipes are terracotta and sixty years old. For the past two weeks, the sewer pipe going from my house to the city's line has been stopping up. My plumber, Talon, has tried all his tricks to unstop it—grinding roots out of the line, pouring killer acid in to dissolve “stuff”--but he's at the end of his capacities. So now it's looking like they'll use a backhoe to dig up my back yard. Not something I wanted, and certainly not something I wanted to spend money on. I've pitched several fits, and promised my pipes all sorts of precious things, but nothing is taking care of the problem. I've considered praying, but I just don't think God would appreciate getting into my sewer problems. So---money, digging, yuck!

Now, just in case you're wondering what on Earth this has to do with spirituality, you'll be encouraged to hear that I wonder, too. I suppose in many ways plumbing is like life. When things are good, life flows freely; we really don't have to think about it at all. Sometimes small problems arise, but a little Draino (quick-fix) takes care of it and life goes back to normal. At times, however, the problem is big, and time consuming and nasty. Suddenly there is a large, ugly blockage impeding our progress. We have to call in the experts to figure out exactly where the issue lies. Often we have to excavate; dig around in our bodies, the family history, childhood, and dredge up all the excrement that has settled in places we didn't even know were there. It's expensive, in terms of emotional pain and suffering, treasury and time. We feel dirty, and our emotional abode has a smell about it we don't like. But in the end, the impediment gets dug out, and new ways of being take the place of old, outmoded notions. We flow freely in a new, clean and infinitely more stable way. (I'm fighting the urge to say, “And everyone lives happily ever after.”)

I hope your plumbing is unchallenged today. I hope your life is flowing, and everything on your home-front is smooth and uncomplicated. But I happen to know that more than a few of you are dealing with glitches of your own right now—some bigger than others. I'm not alone in the deep dodo. So, know this—I'm thinking about you and holding your hand. We'll all get through this together. I know a very good Plumber.

                                              In the spirit,

                                                Jane