I have just arrived back home from the dentist. I am vowing once again, the Ground Hog's Day Vow, to floss daily or twice daily on an ambitious whim. I tried that once, after a particularly grind the plaque, tar and grit from my sparklers with a whisk of water and suck hook in my mouth visit to my dentist's office. I committed to daily tend to my teeth, my gums, and my pride. Two years ago, for six months, I flossed nearly obsessively once and occasionally twice a day, only neglecting my daily task two times in 182.50 days. The keep my teeth healthy between dental visits campaign became my religion. I must floss. I bowed my head in pursuit of plaque banishment and all that.
Daily tasks lead to rewards. One of my Lift clients, Sarah B., deemed this mantra mid appointment half way through her LIFT adventure and it is hers, her legacy that I share with all that follow the Program since. I have borrowed it because it is brilliant in its simplicity. A reminder that what we do each day matters to our future story. We are laying down the tracks for our future travel. My dental assistant chirped on and on that particular visit about the health of my mouth. It was a small, seemingly insignificant daily gesture that lead to the reclined mouth wide-open celebration. Small actions, tiny steps matter so much. The impact is significant eventually as long as we keep on keeping on.
It's a ripple effect Kay, my pal Marina reminds me over dinner tonight. A pebble changes the calm of the water and a string of floss can too. Every gesture matters and contributes to change in our favor. Progress toward our rewards.
Get back out there, my brother Andy said over lunch. One more candidate, another possibility, he insists. Your wish is to be with your Person by Christmas '15, so get back out there, you have less than a year to go (it being February 18th and all) . The lunch that I declared the Seattle Tinder dating marathon over, well at least a brief Pause from the how do you dos. Maybe wash your face first, he encourages, after I weep into my tureen of cream of tomato soup for an hour. I was exhausted from the resume dates, darling, charming, perfect on paper and in smiles. No one permeated my love system, though. Goldilocks had tested the porridge, the chairs and a few beds to no avail, nothing was Just right, yet. I needed a kiss the frogs break, a good nap, a day without sharing stories, favorite colors, Exs and tattoo art. One more date, Andy said to me, then you can get on the train and head home. Like the boxer that needs his Coach to wipe the smear of blood from his chin and readjust his helmet strap between rounds, I needed a breather and a reminder of the intention I had set. Get back in the ring. OK, fine. He is bossy and also right. I went for a tea with a possible suitor thirty minutes and a face scrub later. And it paid off. He is my needle in the haystack story. My first real love, at 48.5 years old. Frog Prince, Porridge Perfect Paul. The day's task of swiping right one more time lead to the reward of finding My Person.
My Lift clients fill out their workbooks each week. They decide what they want and what they plan to do, the actions to get there, and they do it. They show up and the miracles follow. The commitment to the tasks at hand: The daily workout, the paragraph that turns into a screenplay, the Tinder marathon that yields true love and sometimes just plain shit buckets of fun kissing the frogs dating, the No to the tater tots and yes to the bikini, the storage bins and garbage bags that lead to a garage clean enough to have the band practice on Tuesday nights. Miracles happen when we make a wish and we daily devote ourselves to the tasks at hand to allow them to show up. Love, money, purpose, Ph.Ds, finish lines, trips to faraway countries, better posture, pert booties. We get what we want when we Do our daily tasks.
The trajectory of our seemingly small gestures moves us toward fulfilled desires. There is great power in the slight offering of efforts, daily.
Signing off to count my sheep after, of course, the floss regime.