Chopping Wood and Toting Water

There is a Zen saying, "Before enlightenment chop wood and tote water; after enlightenment chop wood and tote water."  Of course, this refers to a time (not too long ago) prior to household internal plumbing and heat.  Then, as now, life and work appears to consist of a litany of routine and mundane tasks.


In fundraising there are certain activities that we must do in order to accomplish our goals.  For example, we are often required to hold a certain number of face-to-face visits with donors each month (chopping wood), and record the salient content of those conversations in a database (toting water).  Even chief development officers (enlightened fundraising masters) chop this wood and tote this water.


And yet, when we bring our full attention and awareness to whatever task is at hand the burden seems to become lighter, and the effort is more like a game that we enjoy playing.  So, in this context I ask: where in your current work do you want be more present and playful in order to lighten the burden?