I had my teeth cleaned this week. I hate having my teeth cleaned. I hate that scraping, the stiff, dry ratcheting in my skull that literally sets my teeth on edge.
But this time, I decided to lean into the scraping and scratching instead of pushing it away, to accept it for what it is, an experience of the unfolding universe. And you know what? The discomfort became less acute. I could even enjoy part of it, like almost a massaging of my gums, knowing I was receiving deep satisfying cleanliness.
Before I knew it, the hygienist was done polishing my teeth and then getting out the dental floss, the final step.
Unpleasant situations are more intense when we tense up against them. Take the huge knot in my back, for instance. If I breathe into the knot and relax while lying on a hard rubber ball, if I flow with my deep breathing, the knot has a better chance to loosen. Same with teeth cleaning or any other experience, I imagine. The ones we deal with day in day out, anyway. Maybe not the truly traumatic and torturous ones. But who knows? Maybe the same goes for them as well.
So, for everyday unpleasantness, I will choose to show up and breathe into the moment rather than resist it. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes for you.
Perennial Joy
“Leave pain and pleasure far behind.
Those who know that they are neither body
Nor mind but the immemorial Self,
The divine principle of existence,
Find the source of all joy and live in joy
Abiding…”
The Katha Upanishad