Three Life Lessons From A Roomba
Lessons in humanity from a robot
When I first heard about the invention of the Roomba, I couldn’t believe my ears. What sorcery is this?
They say for about $400, give or take, my floors can be clean all day, every day. This is a dream come true for the barefoot, OCD type, especially those like me with tile floors and pets that shed. No more grains of sand between my toes, animal hair piling up in the corners, or miscellaneous debris dragged in by dogs.
I felt my hopes rising each time I heard the word — Roomba. It even sounded magical.
If you haven’t heard, the Roomba, according to Wikipedia, is “a series of autonomous robotic vacuum cleaners… featuring a set of sensors that enable them to navigate the floor area of a home and clean it.” The extravagant claims and boastful marketing sounded too good to be true, but I still fell captive to its spell and purchased the robot.
Not only has it lifted the burden of cleaning my floors, but it also taught me a few valuable life lessons and gave me the extra time needed to focus on them.
Lesson 1: A power source is necessary for a productive life.
The robot must be plugged into a power source and have a clear path to it at all times — this becomes the robot’s home. It has the ability to disconnect from the power supply to do its job, but it must return home in order to recharge. Without its power source, the nifty little machine isn’t any good to anyone, including itself. Machines get their power from another source. The same is true for humans.
Humans need a power source, too.
Watching this determined, hard-working gadget dedicate itself to my flooring reminded me of how I often approach the start of my day. I take off in the morning ready to tackle anything, determined to get the job done. Some days I’m successful. I’m happy and centered and able to achieve a sense of purpose. However, if I haven’t been “plugged in” to my power source, I’m no good to anyone, including myself.
The human need for connection to a higher power is much like that of the Roomba’s connection to a power source. So what’s my power source? The Roomba has the luxury of knowing instinctively. I have to find it.
We are graced with a greater capacity for direct contact with our own higher power [source] than most of us are in the habit of using. ~Marianne Williamson
As humans, we often talk about ways to recharge because we know we need it. There is a source that we connect to in order to restore ourselves and our energy, and it is important to personally identify that source.
For some, connection is about prayer, meditation, or reading sacred texts. Others plugin by spending time with friends, family, or nature. Whatever the source, it cannot be ignored. We need it to be alive, vibrant and attune to our life purpose.
Lesson 2: Rest is non-negotiable.
Ah, sweet rest. We all talk about it and with the message of self-care gaining awareness, you’d think it would be a no brainer. Unfortunately, it is still a struggle for many of us.
The National Institute of Health reported that approximately 30% of us complain of sleep disruption and about 10% really struggle to function during the day due to insomnia. We know we need rest, but we must give ourselves permission to do so.
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. ~John Lubbock
The Roomba’s life purpose is to leave it’s home every day and clean my floors. It knows it cannot go non-stop without some unproductive downtime. Intrinsically, it knows this because of its programming. There is no guilt or shame or apology. When the Roomba is recharging, it just sits there. It’s plugged in, but there is absolutely no activity. Only stillness.
Inner stillness is the key to outer strength. ~Jared Brock
This is a reminder for us as humans that being unproductive can be the best way to be productive. In western society, there is an underlying, not so subtle, message that we should resist downtime, and if we do not, we are lazy. Supervisors encourage us to take more time for self-care, all the while heaping more work in our laps. We are taught to embrace busyness and working harder as indicators of self-worth.
Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. ~Maya Angelo
We must rest. If the Roomba doesn’t rest, it will break down, and so will we.
Lesson 3: Take out the trash.
The Roomba has a little sweeper foot underneath its body that whisks up dirt and trash into the gut of the machine. When it is full, it must be emptied and cleaned, or it won’t work… At all.
At my house, the robot is habitually cleansed each evening before bed. It’s how we ensure that the machine continues to bless us with clean floors.
Similarly, we pick up mental, physical, and emotional trash that we digest into our psyches every day. During a normal year, negative messages, disheartening news, and everyday downers are enough to clog our systems.
How about 2020?
The overwhelming news of the pandemic killing people world-wide, fear for our elderly family members and friends, police brutality, race riots, lagging economies, and an election that appears to offer precious few answers are just a few of the issues. The trash must be taken out.
But how?
The author of Your Holiness, Debbie Ford, refers to this act of emotional and mental emptying as “a consciousness cleanse.” She explains that we have all allowed “things into our awareness, into our consciousness, that are not of the highest vibration.” We must take the time to empty ourselves of the dirt and trash we pick up in order to stay mentally and emotionally healthy for ourselves and those who love us. This needs to be habitual for us to function at our highest level.
Roomba is wise. Be like Roomba.
Like the Roomba, plugging into a power source, resting, and consciously cleansing our minds of negativity is something we can all do.
Perhaps, it isn’t sorcery, after all.