other people's s**t, in both sitcoms and in real life

I read something the other day which got me to thinking about something which normally remains rather discreet in our everyday lives. It was a profile on somebody, maybe a celebrity or something, certainly someone in the news currently in a any event. In it this person recounted that they never, could never clean their own toilets; "That's what maids are for", they reasoned. (Ouch!) 

The very few times in my adult life when I had the service of a housekeeper at home, I always cleaned the toilet myself before they arrived. 

I would never wish for another person to clean up after me like that. And moreover, it seems too personal, too degrading if I think about it clearly. This attitude might have become cemented into my thinking from reading so many Zen "How to" books during my lifetime. And though I have never been in an ashram where one would routinely be assigned toilet duty, I  somehow developed this sense of modesty through other means.

(Full disclaimer, I was raised with maids as a young child, and they (the maids) routinely cleaned up after us in those early years)

I still carry a bit of shame over this fact. But I left home quite early, at the age of twelve, and I quickly learned to take care of myself in this regard, and in other domains too. Hey! we grow up the best we can, though sadly, many never do.

And so to broaden out the scope of this idea further, it got me to thinking about just how much s**t other people expect us to put up with or clean up. Actually, just how much s**t do we throw out to others while expecting them to deal with it? If Youtube is a barometer, then we are all in trouble.

But then I do live alone which makes the whole thing a lot easier for myself and others. 

When I watch films or television sitcoms, I understand just how the screenplay is loaded to the gills with discord, because without it, one wouldn't have a story. All of drama is about discord between characters, husbands and wives, family members, lovers, workplace colleagues, etc, etc. 

So, without any discord, what would relationships look like? What would our lives look like without altercations with others? Would the answer to this be peaceful or boring? 

Again, I live alone so my issues are well hidden from view, so I am imagine but I certainly know that others wouldn't agree that I am the easiest of people. 

And I guess this is why Trump came to power for four weird years.