Four years ago, I had a profound experience that changed me. It made me believe in a higher power and made me reflect deeply on life. I don’t know what to call it; though, I’ve tried to explain it here before. For those who don’t click links 😉, it’s what I believe was a spiritual awakening. Downloads happened…tears appeared…I felt like I knew things about life that I shouldn’t.
Right before this occurred, I visited a local bookstore and found a book about enlightenment. When I went to check out, the cashier saw the title and said “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”
Mind you, this was in the beginning of what I was experiencing, and it fell on deaf ears at the time. Today, it’s the phrase that helps keep me grounded.
At the time, I was consuming a plethora of literature about subjects of all kinds and the more I consumed, the more I questioned absolutely everything I’d ever been taught. We’ve all been taught that we reside on a planet called Earth that revolves around the sun, but hearing it again and realizing that we’re hurtling around the Sun which is hurtling around the Milky Way, which is flying through space is jarring. Why am I paying bills if this is just a microcosm of this macro universe we live in?
Chop wood, carry water.
Yes. There’s something greater at play, and I feel that with every fiber of my being. But that doesn’t change the here and now. We are bookin’ it through space and time, but my mortgage needs to get paid. My cat has to be fed. I have to be a contributing member of society, despite my love of the unknown.
Chop wood, carry water.
Do I wish I could go back to my life with blinders? Absolutely. Can I? No. Sometimes I struggle with being in the present, which is a curse and blessing.
Because now, I see behind the curtain—and that changes everything. But it doesn’t absolve me from the human experience. In fact, it makes it all the more sacred.
Maybe that’s what the phrase really means:
It’s not about returning to the mundane after a glimpse of the divine. It’s about bringing that glimpse with you—into the laundry, the spreadsheets, the parenting, the chaos.
It’s not either/or. It’s both.
Chop wood, carry water.
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