Just another day

Written by: Khadeja

“The more you tense up, the more difficult it is”

Wisdom can come at the most unexpected times from the most unexpected sources. Most times, it is exactly what you need to hear.

The above phrase was said to me by my dental hygienist during a routine cleaning visit. She said it in the context of the merits of flossing and how that habit must be built into my daily routine. But to me it had a very different effect.

The previous night I had gotten into a massive debate with my husband, and to be fair it was triggered by my inflexible approach to things. My perfectionist ways lead me to be quite militant when it comes to planning things. I had overreacted due to a slight change in plans because I felt it would compromise the ‘perfect’ lunch gathering that I was planning.

The residue of that argument rolled into the next morning and whilst my husband attempted to smooth things over, I was still in a deep funk. I was walking to my appointment with what felt like a black cloud over my head. The worrier in me was going into overdrive.

And then suddenly, the hygienist said what she said and almost instantly I was shaken into realizing how insignificant the whole incident was. Not only that, I realized that every time I ‘tense up’ I actually make things more difficult for myself.

It’s amazing how you can find what it is you are subconsciously seeking, without ever having to actually ‘look’.