Recently I had to have a molar tooth pulled because of cracked roots with infections. Yep, you are looking at it now. And what’s the worth of anything in life if you can’t learn a lesson and make a Trail Tip out of it… For me, my story with the tooth was: I had some minor/dull pain with it for a few months, but it was never really bad and hey, the tooth looked fine to the naked eye. But it was the hidden part of the tooth that was causing the problem for me and I didn’t want to address it. And it’s the hidden part of our lives; things below the surface; that will cause problems in our lives if we don’t address them.
In hiking, for me it’s the over confidence I get when hiking and thinking I am experienced enough to do new hikes by myself; this is the place where we can lose judgement and can get into problems. Recently I did the Spruce Mountain and Spruce Meadow trail. A total of 18 miles. Toward the end, I became in a hurry to get back sooner, so seeing Spruce Mountain in the distance, I went off trail and cut across the open range. While I made it safely; later I thought this is a great area for rattle snakes, and what would have happened if I would have gotten bit. Like my tooth, the path looks good on the outside, but am I really aware of the potential problems below the surface.
In our personal life, I think of anger and secrets that we hide on the inside that gnaw away at our heart and can destroy us over time. Like a tooth infection that can eat away the bones in our jaw, anger and secrets can infect our whole body as well. The solution for the tooth is an extraction, but it doesn’t stop there. The void left by the tooth must be filled in with a bone graft to build a strong foundation, allowed to heal for 6 months, and then have a screw inserted for a tooth implant for complete healing. With anger and secrets, we need to expose them as well and replace the void with love, acceptance, and gratitude of others. Like the tooth process, this is something that also takes time and will have pain along the way, as healing takes place.
In work, we also have pain along the way. Project frustration, conflicts with co-workers, balance of work/home balance; all come into play at different times. We can let them foster and tear us down from the inside or we can look for ways to express and let out the pressure in positive ways. For me, I’ve found that one on one lunch meetings or going on hikes with a few co-workers can do wonders. As it’s been said “what said on the trail, stays on the trail.” And this is trust that needs to be built over time with select co-workers.
We all want things to be pretty on the outside and wish our lives were the picture we show on Facebook all the time. But there is pain below the surface and it’s real; eating away at the fabric of our lives, just like my tooth infection was starting to eat away at my jaw bone. What are the things causing you pain below the surface in your hiking, personal and work life? Who are the “dentists” in your life that you are going to allow to come into your being and do the extractions, help fill in the voids, and start the recovery process?
Al Andersen 