Perspective

I practiced dentistry for 23 years. Most dentists stay with it longer than that, but health challenges forced me to retire and pursue other outlets. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I've been thrilled to be able to paint and write (passions for me for several years now) since my full-time "retirement". And I love being able to swim in my pool anytime I want when the sun is actually out, not after I return home from a long day at work and Florida thunderstorms spring up, curtailing any chance to dip in the pool. So I've learned to count my blessings and enjoy everything that I can.

During my practice of dentistry, I loved to perform surgeries. I especially loved to experience first-hand the body's ability to heal. What I didn't love about surgery is the mess you can get into quickly if you're not absolutely careful. Even when you're extremely diligent and perform every step according to protocol, you can get in trouble quickly.

The biggest problem was excessive bleeding. Patients weren't always forthright on their medical histories and didn't think it important to let me know they were on a daily regimen of aspirin to thin the blood. Until the blood wouldn't stop flowing from a seemingly benign surgery. "Oh, yeah!" they'd say. "I take a baby aspirin, only one a day. I didn't think it mattered." Guess what--it matters.

Awakening people after putting them under could also be scary. Sometimes, they just "forgot" to tell me that they took a little anti-anxiety medication on their own. Or that they had a former drug or alcohol addiction, all of which affects the ability for them to wake up easily after I've pumped other drugs into their system. These times were the most scary, when I couldn't get someone to respond. I took appropriate measures and everything always worked out okay, but for those couple of minutes, there were more prayers going up from my operatory than 1000 Muslims could offer at prayer call. It was literally a matter of life and death. Trust me, I do not miss those episodes.

That's why I don't get too stressed about anything in my life now. If a painting doesn't work out how I wanted it to, or doesn't get accepted into a show the way I'd hoped, or a novel isn't coming together and I have no idea where to go next in the storyline -- mmph, none of it is life or death. It's simply a puzzle to be worked out. Nothing more, nothing less. A puzzle. A challenge on life's roadway to wherever. So what if a piece of paper gets ruined? It's only paper, and if I paid attention, I probably learned a very good lesson in what not to do next time. When I spend hours upon hours crafting a novel, only to be told by an editor that 45% of it was deadwood that needed to be chopped, then I learned a lesson in that, too. But none of it was a matter of life or death. None of it.

I'm a much happier person now, not holding someone's life in my hands. Well, actually God holds their life in His hands, so I always did my best to be an active partner in those scenarios and plead with Him not to let that person slip into a coma or die. I'm so glad He never let that happen.

Next time you get highly upset about something, ask yourself--will the outcome mean life or death? If not, don't sweat it. Just do your best and it'll all fall into place.