Your Fairy Tale

The Magic in the Mundane

“Every man's {or woman's} life is a fairy tale written by God's fingers.”

Hans Christian Andersen

Rebecca, Susan and I were talking yesterday about mundane tasks we find soothing. We all agreed that some repetitive tasks, like ironing or sweeping, are Zen. You can do them without much concentration, and allow your mind to wander where it will.

One of the tasks that occurs regularly in fairy tales is sorting. Usually the female heroine is given an impossible task, such as sorting lentils from an enormous pile of grain, or sorting poppy seeds from sand, or thread from straw. If she achieves it, she will be rewarded, if not, she will die at the hands of whatever terrible witch assigned the task. At first, the girl despairs—there's no way she can possibly do the task, but then little magical beings—sometimes birds, sometimes mice or furies—come to help. They ask something of the girl, usually food, which she happily gives, and then do the task for her. At any rate, the girl always manages—at least in fairy tales—to accomplish the assigned chore and win favor.

Sorting tasks are a woman's bread and butter. I remember when my sons were little and scattered their toys all over the house. They would pick them up, but they never sorted out what parts belonged to which toys. So, periodically, I would spend a day sorting. Within the family, women sort out who does what with whom and when, and sometimes, how. We dole out food and treats and chores and try to make all of them fair. We unsnarl knots and divide into equal parts and count out cookies or chips or gummy bears. Sorting out the issues is woman's work, too, and we do it well.

Often, whether man or woman, we are given tasks in life that feel insurmountable—like raising our children alone, or making enough money to feed a whole family, or working at a job, while raising a family and caring for ailing parents. Everyday fairy tales that seem overwhelming when we face them. But we do it—we manage to get through without killing anyone or ourselves; everybody eats and gets to school on time and in the end, life turns out to be pretty good. The mundane tasks are essential. They are the woof and warp of life. They are the reason that most of us, at the end, can say, “I wouldn't change a thing.”

                                                In the spirit,

                                                   Jane