Like so many others, I recently avoided going to the dentist. Not because of a routine cleaning and check-up. Those are scheduled six months in advance. But this time, I had a filling come out one of my back teeth a few weeks ago and I thought I could avoid going in until my next appointment--in September! Then, that tooth started to hurt. Real bad! There's a scene in Cast Away where Tom Hanks's character takes an ice skate to extract a tooth that's causing him a great deal of pain. Trust me, I've thought about taking such drastic measures, especially when the pain became so great and both the ibuprofen and Orajel weren't working fast enough.
Then, when the pain went away, so did my need to call the dentist.
At least, until the pain returned.
In our lives, we come across times that cause us pain--a heart attack, a cancer scare, a home foreclosure, a vehicle repossession--and we work hard to allieviate the pain. We do this by exercising, eating healthier, working harder, starting a business, or all of the above. Then, once the pain subsides, we seem to forget all about it. We go back to eating all the wrong foods or not working as much or saying "I'll exercise (or write) tomorrow." We forget about the pain. We obtain another credit card or another loan, forgetting how those scumbags treated you the last time when you couldn't pay.
And this time will not be any different.
Always remember the pain. Because if you don't, the pain will return and you'll kick yourself for not doing something about it.
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