Zen And The Art of Ironing Part 1: Ironing Trousers That Don't Need Creases

In the popular mind Zen is Deep Meditation something you have to work at for years, decades and lifetimes to achieve to block out the stresses of modern life and think of nothing or at least not about your compulsive materialism. Its supposed to be stress removing, but lots of people STRESS about the fact that they aren't de-stressing enough which to me is counter productive. I'm not religious or mystic but I did learn to mediate from a book and control my breathing and body functions etc when I was about 11 years old and read my fathers old 'The Power of the Mind' book around the same age, it was only when my mother caught me reading her 'Tropic of Cancer' about (Whales with 6 foot thingies) that I got a clip around the head, and I realise some books were for adults. My mother taught me to do some ironing as a kid, I liked to help out, but was so terrified I'd burn myself I stopped. I didn't really learn again until I joined the Army. The services are sticklers on cleanliness, polishing and above all ironing. Ironing instills pride in ones uniform and in the section, the squad the corps. I was good at it, nay very good at it and I could earn a little on the side ironing uniforms for others who found it difficult and some impossible. What I worked out that if you approached ironing in a relax manner, took your time, developed a routine, it became incredibly relaxing and with steam irons the sound is like the tide on a beach. In fact its almost impossible to think about others stresses whilst meticously ironing well, and even though the ironing can be tiring if there is a lot of it you ended up feeling great, if perhaps relieved when you finished and proud of the good work and sleep well. If people then pass positive comments on your well ironed clothes you feel great, job done. If your a MAN and you iron your own clothes then your something special, even if its the butt of peoples jokes, but it receives the stresses on the main ironer and means you are doing something together, a positive. So here is the first in my Zen And The Art of Ironing series using a Bosch Steam Iron and if you don't currently iron your own clothes this is the time to start, if your suffering during lockdown in particular it will take your mind off whats happening seriously get ironing, I've got no time is no longer an excuse ;-) Malcolm aka  @FIXED1T  #fixed1tSTRESSBUSTINGtips #fixed1tSELFHELPtips #fixed1t