Repetition and ritual and their good results come in many forms. Changing the filter, wiping noses, going to meetings, picking up around the house, washing dishes, checking the dipstick — don't let yourself think these are distracting you from your more serious pursuits. Such a round of chores is not a set of difficulties we hope to escape from so that we may do our "practice" which will put us on a "path" — it is our path. It can be its own fulfillment, too. . . . Dogen was fond of saying that "practice is the path." . . . Mountaineers climb . . . mostly because it "puts you out there" where the unknown happens, where you encounter surprise.
The truly experienced person, the refined person, "delights in the ordinary." Such a person will find the tedious work around the house or office as full of challenge and play as any metaphor of mountaineering might suggest.
— Gary Snyder, Mindfulness and Meaningful Work by Claude Whitmyer, editor