Relax

TP

I don’t understand why anyone would choose to become a dentist. I have no desire to spend all day in someone else’s mouth. Facing the risk of having my fingers bitten by someone I don’t know doesn’t thrill me.

To be honest I don’t understand the attraction in many jobs, just as most people would never see themselves working in any of the jobs I’ve worked over the years. Thankfully we’re all wired differently and thankfully some people are wired to become dentists. I don’t want to be one but I’m glad that some people do.

This is all to say that I’m due to visit the dentist tomorrow. Not really a cause for celebration but rather a case of necessity. I don’t dislike dentists but put a visit to a tooth tweaker up against most other pursuits and I’d go with the latter.

Today I had to prepare for my dentist visit by a trip to a radiological clinic. I needed an X-Ray of my mouth for the dentist.

Everyone was pleasant enough but it was a little odd. I had to stand in front of a machine that looked like a robot from a B grade movie. Then I had to get closer, then closer again, then bite down on a small piece of plastic. At that point I had to stand even closer.

Then a set of calipers was clamped onto my head.

Next was the instruction to smile … while still clamping tightly onto the machine with my teeth and standing oddly close to the large apparatus. Then, to avoid the moving parts during the X-Ray, I had to drop my shoulders.

Finally the ultimate request. While doing all this …. RELAX.

Helpful, cheerful, pleasant, efficient and many other words would describe the staff at the clinic today. They just seem to have a very different concept of relaxing to me.



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No Reason is Reason Enough

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I’ve been to the Gold Coast twice before. The first time was for a day and a half. The second time a little longer. Both were for conferences and I didn’t have time in either of those instances to see much of the area.

This time it’s different. Both previous times I was here for a specific reason. This time I have no real reason to be here but that’s reason enough.

Of course saying I’m here for no reason isn’t completely true. What I mean is I’m not here for reasons of work or for a specific task.I’m here to kick back and relax with my family and that certainly is reason enough.

We’re here for just over a week and we don’t have to follow a schedule or be anywhere particular at any time. Our routine is very much about having no routine.

We spent today at Movie World meeting super heroes and cartoon characters. I’m not really a roller coaster person but those in the family who are had an amazing time on a number of stomach turning rides.

Routines are wonderful. They help us create systems that make day to day life run more smoothly but when we set up hard and fast routines we can become slaves of those routines,rather than using them to serve us. Slipping out of routine is a great way to remember that routine should never become our master.

I often find that holidays and breaks in routine remind me that I’m dispensable. The world can survive perfectly well without me. Strangely enough, far from being a depressing thought, understanding that the world doesn’t fall apart when I’m not following my normal routine is incredibly empowering. It tells me that I don’t have to carry the world on my shoulders but at the same time I can choose to play a part that will make a difference in the lives of others.

My break in routine is a great way to recharge then get stuck back into my regular life, ready to take myself less seriously while being more effective when my routine cranks up again.



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I was that guy

coffee_cup.jpgI’ve seen him plenty of times before.

He’s usually there when I’m having coffee with my cycling mates on Saturday mornings. I’ve seen him as I’ve hurriedly walked past cafés on my way somewhere else. He’s been there when I’ve been enjoying a quiet cuppa with Pauline. He’s there in shopping centres, airports and cafés everywhere.

Sometimes he’s tall and middle aged. Other times he’s a little shorter and fairly young. He’s bald or with a full head of hair. He’s dozens of different people but I always want to be him.

Yesterday I was that guy.

I was the guy sitting on my own in the café, sipping a long black while reading a good book. There’s something very therapeutic about sitting in a busy café, letting the world buzz around nearby as you bury yourself in the pages.

I had to be at Mia Café in Inglewood yesterday for a Christmas afternoon tea. The rest of the family had to be across the other side of town so Pauline dropped me off an hour and a half early. That gave me the opportunity to partake in the magnificent pastime that I see so often yet so rarely enjoy.

Maybe I need to make that one of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2009. “Spend more time alone in cafés.” In 2009 I intend to be that guy a lot more often.



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