01/19/05
Dear TwinkleGrammers,
My recent stress reducing decision was so simple, and yet … the ongoing results continue to be SPECTACULAR! But sadly, questions continue to plague me: Why did it take me so long to figure it out, make the change? More puzzling, though: why had I--so very long ago--made the wrong decision to begin with? Or, had I ever even *made* a conscious decision? Since I have no recollection of a moment in time when I gathered information, made the calculations and decided to do it "that way," I can only guess that I simply and mindlessly (key phrase) started engaging in the procedure a certain way, then after continuing the daily regimen (slight exaggeration) in that same manner for so long, it didn't occur to me there WAS another way. Until several weeks ago when I staged a mini revolt against my own dumb self.
In the grand scheme of world situations, this might seem the dumbest thing to be carrying on about, but honestly, even if it is (although I bet if I really tried I could find something dumber), sometimes it is the seemingly unimportant decisions that can open the floodgates to a fresh way of thinking about weighty issues. So yes, I herewith wish to incite (inspire, nudge, WAKE UP) your out-of- the-box thinking. Or at least out of your OWN box, the one you've put yourselves in when you weren't paying attention. (If you have never done this, you can stop reading now. But then … how will you know whether or not you are in my SAME box if you don't read on? The box I have now ESCAPED?!)
The object of my revolt: the length of my daily (slight exaggeration) allotted strip of dental floss. That's right, I'm talking about dental floss and how miserable The Flossing Procedure can be when the length of said dental floss is too short.
Although I like to imagine I am the poster child for excellent oral hygiene (but only when my imagination REALLY needs a kick in the petoot since I mean GADS! There are so many more FUN things to imagine being!), the truth is I am aspiring to get better at the Daily Discipline (I wish) of The Flossing. Since my mini revolt, however, The Flossing has become FAR less taxing, so *much* less taxing, in fact, that I'm almost beginning to *enjoy* (Gads, Charlene, get a LIFE!) The Flossing.
For reasons definitely not clear to me, I years ago became skimpy (although that never occurred to me) with the length of my dental floss. For those of you who know me, you will find that statement extraordinarily difficult to believe since I am so extravagant--perhaps even wasteful--about so many things. Why, I can toss away dollars on really stupid stuff (earrings, lipgloss, fancy teabags, kitschy accessories--but now that I list them, I know why I do it) so why on EARTH I made skimping on my dental floss an annoying habit is beyond intelligence. But it is true: for years I have pulled out a length that was only so long, but which was NEVER long enough to wrap around my fingers enough times to get through The Flossing without it coming off my fingers a billion times, making The Flossing IRRITATING AND STRESSFUL. Wind and rewind. Start to actually floss and lose the tension. Off the fingers; lost in mouthland. Wind and rewind. I HATED THE FLOSSING, especially when the too-short piece of dental floss ended up--time and again--attached to nothing but the crevice between my teeth! The fact I use waxed floss (I'll spare you the why of it, but it is necessary) made it even more frustrating since it doesn't take much to lose tension on slippery waxed floss, especially when it's too short to begin with!
The only time said Floss Length Deficit (new government term) was NOT the case is when the cutter on the dental floss (and who on EARTH invented those useless metal cutters that do not cut?) didn't cut when I pulled it across the cutter, causing an extra six inches to dispense before THAT made me nuts and I actually YELLED at the dental floss container while I wrestled with it. But even the times I did The Flossing with the accidental extra length, I was already so mad at the dumb cutter, I didn't notice that The Flossing was easier!
Then one day the light dawned: "I have complete control over the length of my dental floss and I do NOT need to stop pulling the length when it gets 'this long.' No! I do NOT! I can keep pulling it—with intention--until it is THIS long." (Visions of the "so big" antics we teach babies comes to mind, as in, "How long is Mommy's dental floss? SOOOooo long!")
Okay, it's hard to imagine someone feeling decadent because she's lengthened the length of her dental floss, but the first time I lengthened the floss on purpose, I DID. I am serious. I felt decadent winding the floss around my fingers enough times it did not come unwound. I noticed I was actually SMILING at myself during The Flossing! (PLEASE tell me that it is not true, even though it IS!) And now, there is no turning back.
My new question to myself has become, What else are you mindlessly skimping on? Have you become tight with your hugs? Short on contributions? Stingy with forgiveness? It is amazing how one small change can morph into profound discoveries.
So, Dear TwinkleGrammers, here is today's challenge to help you not miss your own best life: What one little thing are you mindlessly skimping on that causes you STRESS? (And if you think of something OBVIOUS, please let me know because I probably need to change THAT TOO!) What better time than the start of a new year to give yourself a review. And if, in the end, your review of the smallest things leads you to give more love, hugs, contributions, forgiveness, laughter or (name any other grace), imagine how the whole world might change. Now THAT, Dear TwinkleGrammers, is worth imagining!
Peace and grins until we chat again,
Charlene, your Decadent Flosser!
PS If you know anyone who might get a grin or challenge out of this message, please pass it along.
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PSSS Don't forget to SHARE your discoveries with me. I'm now imagining a Special Edition TwinkleGram on DeStingy-fying coming your way! In fact, put DeStingy-fying in the subject line.
PSSSS I'm in the home stretch of rewrites for Dearest Dorothy, Who Would Have Thought?! (www.welcometopartonville.com), which is due to release in AUGUST! All prayers appreciated!
Life SHINES in the details!
Web site: http://www.welcometopartonville.com
E-mail: charlene@dontmissyourlife.com
To Read About the Dearest Dorothy Books, Click HERE!
