#205. or, Find Your Zen

  I have, for the most part, a pretty stressful life.

  Almost every facet of what I do is influenced by factors outside of my control. Add to that, the fact that I live at my job, makes it difficult to turn it off and step away for a bit.

  OK, lets be realistic here, it's not the fate of the world lies in the balance sorta decisions I'm making. But, I've had enough missteps in the last few years that I've become more of a stumble along guy than a, make confident decision, see it through, toss back shaken not stirred martini, leave wife exhausted and thoroughly satisfied amid crumpled bedsheets while I adjust my tie and carry on to the next bold decision sorta fella. 

  Yesterday, after chores, I had a dentist appointment. 

  Nothing intense. Just a filling. Because good dental health begins with a proper daily regiment of brushing and flossing. ( That last sentence was for the benefit of my children. It really has nothing to do with the story.) 

  Anyways, over the past little while, I've been attempting to take a bit of time, when I can, to enjoy the moment. Find a center of peace in the eye of the hurricane sorta thing. So, while at the dentist, in between needle in the gum and lets get down to business with miniature industrial tools, when I was offered the luxury of watching a little television, it occurred to me this might be one of those zen opportunities. 

  It was not.

  The only man in the room with a secondary education diploma said I had about five minutes, handed me the remote control, and left. I thought to myself, let the zen begin and hit the power 

button. 

  Evidently, despite my families substantial monetary contributions, dentistry does not bring home the bacon quite as much as I thought, as the package of channels offered was far less than what I get at home. So, while I could see some things I might like to watch on the guide, they were unavailable to me. Then it occurred to me, I can't watch anything funny just in case I start laughing mid delicate drilling procedure. Star Trek was on, but what if Mr. Dentist was a Star Wars guy? He might subconsciously not give his best effort, cause those Star Wars people can be just a wee bit fanatical. News might put me on edge and less relaxed. Sports might get me too excited. I was running out of time, had nothing to watch and was nowhere as relaxed as I'd intended to be. 

  In the end, as the dentist was walking back into the room, I accidental stumbled across the movie Australia. There's a part in there where the cute little aboriginal boy refers to the cattle as "Dem cheeky bools." I always smile at that part.

  Then he started grinding away on my tooth and I couldn't hear a damned thing anyway.

  .............I'm not sure what he's doing with all my money, but I did spend the remainder of the day happy that I have a bigger package than my dentist.