My Greatest Accomplishment

My spiritual center (it’s not a cult, I swear. We just decided to stop calling it “church” because that is a scary word for some people and we don’t really care what you believe, as long as you’re on board with the whole being kind and trying to make the world a better place thing) is in a charming old building. I assume it was once a house, because it looks like one, but now it has some colored glass windows and a platform, but it is still chopped up in tiny house-like rooms for the most part.

So yes, it’s charming, but it is also old, with some of the less charming attributes of old buildings. One of those is cranky plumbing.

Today we had an amazing gathering (we also decided to stop saying “service,” see above) full of laughter and love and sweetness, remembering our music director, Terry O’Hara, who died last week after serving for 25 years.

Then, because it was the first Sunday of the month, it was Potluck Sunday. We all headed into the basement hall to do some carb-loading.

Are you seeing where I’m going with this?

Well, let me spell it out for you. I went into the restroom and the toilet was clogged. I looked at the swirling water. I wanted to walk away. I sighed and thought “What would a spiritual person do?”

A spiritual person has to deal with the crap that is right in front of them, obviously. Even when it isn’t your own crap sometimes.

I went to make a sign that said “Toilet clogged.” I came back to find my friend Tony occupying the bathroom. They had gone in, not knowing the situation. They soon discovered it. They flew out and said “I didn’t do it!”

I said, “I know.” I held up the sign.

“Oh, thank goodness,” they said. “I thought you were going to blame me.”

Nope. But I was going to use an internet trick to fix it! I poured about half a cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid in the toilet, shut the lid, placed my sign, and waited half an hour.

I came back with a pitcher of hot water, poured it in, and flushed.

I waited. Nothing. Swirling. Water level rising. Oh god. Was it going to overflow? The water crept closer to the rim.

Suddenly, it flushed away, every horrible bit of it.

I ran through the basement, victorious, arms raised, humming “Gonna Fly Now” while Tony laughed at me.

Sometimes being spiritual is praying or meditating. Other times it is being the hero of the toilet. You really never know what life will bring.