A Day of Repose

This week I had a regular dental cleaning and check-up. I scheduled a facial the same day at an upscale spa using a gift card that I had been given as a thank you gift. So I spent a couple of hours reclining while other people did things to my face.

Being unable to move for a set period of time is an interesting proposition. There is a forced passivity that can be disconcerting, that can make me feel trapped. It is an extreme version of many moments that happen many days – waiting in line, sitting in traffic. It feels like time theft. What else could I be doing?

On the other hand, I get to do nothing. I have to do nothing. How do I “steal” this time back? What is possible in these periods of “nothingness”? Since I couldn’t exactly ignore what was happening when I was in the dental chair with my mouth wide open, I did a kind of body scan of my face, head, and neck. I noticed that, although I could dispassionately analyze the moments of discomfort when they came, I still responded physiologically—my hands clenched, I furrowed my brow, my shoulders hiked. I would breath and relax, but, like stray thoughts during meditation, the tension would return again and again. Yet, by focusing I became aware of how the act of tensing felt, how it radiated out to other parts of my body. Clenching my hands affected my toes. Tensing my shoulders sent ripples into my stomach and intestines. During the facial, a significantly more pleasant experience, I focused on the sensations I felt: the steam on my face, the cool wet cloth on my eyes, the warm table, my slightly cold feet, the smell of mint and eucalyptus, the nature sounds recording playing softly, the fingers of the aesthetician massaging my skin, and, oh yes, the pain of extractions.

In the end, two hours of doing nothing but concentrating on my physical body felt like a respite. I didn’t miss the cacophony of social media, the news, and the silent demands that fill my brain when I am moving through my day. (Replace that battery! Follow up with the speech therapist! Fill out those insurance forms! Call B! Call M! Read this article!)

Any moment can become a windfall.