Action and Reaction and Just Not Acting

It's fox medicine at its best. Leaving things unsaid. It's funny how the freewillastrology & dailyom sometimes mirror my life. For some people, horroscopes are generalities, for me they actually work. It might just be a symptom of schizophrenia - magical thinking & all that.

But this is really where I'm at today:

DailyOm
May 9, 2008
Remembering To Pause
Beyond Reacting

We have all had the experience of reacting in a way that was less than ideal upon hearing bad news, or being unfairly criticized, or being told something we did not want to hear. This makes sense because when our emotions are triggered, they tend to take center stage, inhibiting our ability to pause before we speak. We may feel compelled to release the tension by expressing ourselves in some way, whether it’s yelling back at the person yelling at us, or rushing to deliver words of comfort to a friend in trouble. However, there is much to be said for teaching ourselves to remember to pause and take a deep breath before we respond to the shocks and insults that can come our way in life.

For one thing, our initial response is not always what’s best for us, or for the other people involved. Reacting to childish rage with childish rage will only escalate the negativity in a situation, further ensnaring us in an undesirable dynamic. Similarly, when we react defensively, or simply thoughtlessly, we often end up feeling regret over our words or actions. In the end, we save ourselves a lot of pain when we take a deep breath and really tune in to ourselves, and the other person, before we respond. This doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t say anything, although in some cases, that may be the best option.

Some situations require a fairly immediate response, but even just a moment of grounding ourselves before we do so can help enormously. The next time you find yourself wanting to react, try to pause, and in that pause, take a deep breath. Feel your feet on the floor, the air on your skin, and listen for a response to arise within you, rather than just going with the first thing that pops into your head. You may find that in that moment, there is the potential to move beyond reaction and into the more subtle and creative realm of response, where something new can happen.

I have to go get that toof pulled today. I'm worried & anxious because I've never been awake for the experience. It's something new and immensely frightening to me. The last toof they pulled broke into a bunch of pieces, when I got that wisdom toof pulled I had fingerprint bruises along my jawline. Both of those teeth took portions of my jawbone with them. I'm hoping not so much pressure will be needed since, even though it's a molar, this one is closer to the front of my mouth. I'm going to pop a couple of codeine pills before I head out the door. What may very well end up happening is that they'll take x-rays & refer me to an oral surgeon, which will annoy and relieve me at the same time.

Watched The Golden Compass last night. They did a fair adaptation to screen from the book, but the acting was hideous. It's pretty sad when a CGI bear has more passion than a character based on a gypsy. Seeing Sam Elliott was a nice little surprise, kind of like an Easter egg.

This weekend I also need to take my Net+ final and finish up my Excel class project. Which I haven't even started on, but I am the Queen of Excel Spreadsheets (an indication of this is me trying to spell 'Excel' as 'Excal') so not even starting is okay. Even if I totally bomb the Net+ final, I'll still get a C.

Survival of the Toothless

I'm back. Been home since about 1pm, but I had bought a bunch of WoW trading cards from amazon.com that greeted me when we got home, so we've been futzing around with them... meh, no scratch-offs, dammit!

Anyway, props to Burnley Dental, refuge of the uninsured and people who need teef pulled on a Saturday. The old Asian dentist was very fast & thorough - my face was numb from my eyeball to my chin - it's finally started to come back so my eye has stopped twitching. Getting a toof pulled while awake was honestly not as bad as a toof cleaning. A lot less scraping and grinding and bloody gums, it was very straight-forward and the worst part was the crunchy hideous noises coming from the socket. My toof had cracked in half and was probably just one piece of chewing gum away from completely shattering. No stitches necessary today, just antibiotics and Tylenol 3.

But now I've really got to settle in & get these classes over with. It's less appealing than getting another toof pulled.

OMFG!!!!

Today when I went to the dentist I wore my "The villagers are coming with torches and pitch-forks. Please hide me." t-shirt, because that's what I wear when I go to dentist offices and physical therapy and to get my blood drawn, etc - in other words, it's what I wear when I'm being tortured by the medical profession (and when I have to get my hair cut, because that's another alien-abduction-like experience to me).

So just now I logged into The Onion, and this was Capricorn's horroscope:
Your Horoscope
May 6, 2008 | Issue 44•19
Capricorn December 22 - January 19
A mob of torch-wielding villagers will soon gather outside your home, which is odd, as you don't remember inviting a mob of torch-wielding villagers over.