Do you ever dread tackling chores, making a decision, announcing a decision, following through with a commitment that seemed like a good idea at the time, making an uncomfortable phone call, having a dental or surgical procedure done, etc.? There are numerous situations that we humans encounter on a daily basis that we really wish we didn't have to do or start. We should be able to find comfort in numbers, but just because we know others experience the same discomfort does not make it any easier for me or you.
There are those individuals who seem to bluster their way through life with seemingly little distress associated with making others feel uncomfortable. If we are fortunate, we only have close contact with one person like that - knowing more than one can reduce us to stammering, stuttering and sleepless nights. Persons with bull-in-the-china-shop personalities appear to be incapable of fear, pain, dis-ease, social discomfort, or suffering from low self-esteem. Yet, I have to believe that, somewhere below the surface and deeply buried, lie real human beings that possess the same foibles and insecurities that the rest of the population contend with on a regular basis.
But, I digress....to a point. Yesterday I encountered several situations after which I found myself thinking, "That was easier than I thought it would be."
After some days of hand-wringing about parting with certain items from my sort-and-purge exercises, I left said items at Goodwill and haven't looked back since then. Once I drove away, the angst produced by thinking about not having them dissipated. In other words, I'm over it. I sat through a dental procedure without any anesthetic, at the dentist's recommendation because I'd get a better fit on my crown, and, despite five or six 'jolts' from a metal probe, I lived to tell about it. (Yea, me, thought I to myself!) I made a phone call that I had avoided and also lived to tell about that. Situations and actions that I had dreaded turned out to be non-life-threatening or shortening. Yet, today I have still another 'list' of things to accomplish or deal with that I would just as soon feed to the local hyenas, I'm that fond of the items on the list. Is this what we signed up for when we agreed to breath at birth? Glee one minute, relaxation another, interspersed with fleeting (hopefully) moments of 'situational trepidation' when facing dilemmas. I guess this is what we call life.
Still better than the alternative!
Ancora imparo
