Recently I was walking through the grocery store when something caught my eye. It was a bottle of soap, but not just any bottle of hand soap my friends, it was the most gorgeous bottle of soap I’d ever laid eyes on. “Oh wow!” I exclaimed to my wife, “Maggie, look at this bottle of soap! Have you ever seen anything so elegant? Now this is great design, whoever created this was on a mission.” Check it out, I think you’ll agree.

I purchased this soap and I will continue to purchase it. Yes, it’s a bit more expensive than your average bar of Dial but I’m willing to pay a premium for something that makes me smile, makes me stare, something that gives me goose bumps.

In a world where thousands of average products are rolled out daily, design can be the thing that separates you from the pack.

Photo Credit: Quinnanya

One of the turning points in my perspective on this came while watching a particular scene in the movie The Last Samurai.  A few months into his winter stay in the mountains Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) describes the samurai culture he’s stumbled upon in this way, “They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue.”  The camera scans the landscape showing people occupied in their daily tasks: farming, sparring, cooking, sewing, etc.  What struck me is that from one perspective these were mundane tasks, but viewed from another they were an art form.

I’m certainly no expert on eastern culture or religion but one value I’ve picked up on is the concept of mindfulness.  It’s the idea of paying attention to the moment.  Whatever you’re doing right now, just do that thing and maintain focus on it.  I think that’s the key to the scene I described above.  Everyone was mindful of their task and this elevated their work to the level of art.

Viewed through this lens I believe our everyday tasks can become a deep devotion to creating a masterpiece.  Parenting can be art if you give yourself fully to the task.  Web programming can be art if you’ll pay attention and pour love and passion into every keystroke.  Selling, plumbing, coffee making, managing, and friendships can all be works of art if we’ll practice them with mindfulness.

So let’s hear from you.  What is the everyday task that is your masterpiece?