Chronicles of Chaos
Chiropractor Wisdom
When I was a first year associate, a partner at the firm complimented me on my stable demeanor. I didn’t fluster or panic, he said. I knew how to play my cards.
Michael brought home a deck of playing cards last week, and when Wyatt pulled them out during Oliver’s nap so I could teach him how to play I shuffled the cards then stared at a Joker. I could not recall how to play a single card game, not even Fish.
I turned to Wyatt and said, “I can’t quite remember all the details to this game, let’s play UNO.”
I’m calm under pressure because I’m good at internalizing panic and have strong redirection skills.
Lately I’ve been asking myself questions about what really matters and how to protect all of that from my increasing sense of the earth shifting underfoot. I read the business section of the newspaper most every day, and I read it first.
In the fall my skillfully masked stress led to a debilitating pattern of back pain which brought me to a chiropractor’s office. She’s a quirky Buddhist who uses a clicker thing rather than bone cracking adjustments. The best part is the automatic table that takes me from standing next to its padded surface to lying down in five seconds.
She also has a quote board. The other day as I walked past I read this quote she posted from John Tarrant:
“Meditation is a willingness to do nothing, to not flinch from what is happening, to not think what you have always been thinking and to not give the answers you’ve always rehearsed but that are already becoming inert.”
My mediation practice consists of day dreaming while brushing my teeth, walking the dog and taking out the trash, but for whatever reason I feel more empowered, less driven to fix the puzzle. I’m reminded this new terrain creates opportunities to see things differently rather than force them into their old places.
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