A Valuable Lesson From My Dental Hygienist

I was inspired last week by my dental hygienist, and so naturally I want to share it here. Consider it my Valentine to you ❤️

I've been going to the same dentist for about 15 years, but this hygienist has been in the office for the last 3. She's a machine. She has a full schedule every day the office is open, so she's doing cleanings, x-rays, treatment plans, and trouble shooting with dozens of patients each week. She's fast, friendly, a little rough sometimes but not too bad. She's always in a good mood!

I am no one to judge someone else's career path, but cleaning teeth has never seemed that tantalizing to me. So I asked her point blank, "Do you enjoy it?" She says, "Of course! I've been doing this for 18 years! I better enjoy it!"

Naturally that led me to ask, "What do you enjoy about it?" as I pictured her staring into mouth after mouth in varying degrees of sanitation.

"Are you kidding me?? Patient care!! To help someone come up with a plan to make their teeth better and then see it work! They are so happy! I love it."

Patient care.

Those are the words that just kept ringing through my ears as she started scraping and polishing. Patient care. That's how she sees what she's doing with me right now. She's caring.  I just sat there and let myself feel it. (Except when she was cleaning around my retainer--that never feels like care.) And it made me wonder,

How might I approach other parts of life from the perspective of care?

Can watering the plants not be a chore, but plant care? What about laundry becoming wardrobe care? Doing the dishes can be kitchen care, and vacuuming becomes floor care.  Driving my kids is kid care, and massaging Nick's achy feet is husband care. 

This changes everything! Do you feel it too?

Teaching yoga is student care, meditation is mind care, and my morning routine is self care. This could go on and on, and honestly, I hope it does. 

May you see your world as an opportunity to care, and may you let yourself receive loving care when it's offered to you.

Much love, and Happy Valentine's Day, 

Jess

P.S. Join me for an online LAUNCH PARTY for my new podcast, Jess on the Mountain: Yoga, Chakras, and Becoming Your Own Guru on Friday, February 24 at 12:00pm CST.  Register and get the Zoom link at jessgoulding.com/podcast. It's going to be lots of fun!