Shooing Away Self-Pity

Oh for goodness sake.

When I tell you that tomorrow I'll be having another tooth pulled, you must promise not to picture me looking like this----


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----because I don't. At least not yet, anyway.

A filling I had done on Tuesday only made things worse (the dentist feared that), so I walked back over there, gripping my umbrella with gloved-hands this morning, had more x-rays and they made an oral surgeon appt. for me. I'll have to take a cab there (something I've never done alone), but there's a chance Tom can pick me up afterward.

It's been another painful tooth week. Two in a row in a brand new year. Ugh.

But you know? Every single time that I've sat on the red couch and felt myself slipping into self-pity, immediately I said, "Stop it! Go there and it'll be so hard to climb back out. Don't even think about it."

Self-Pityville! Now there's a place of sad lies, hopelessness and gratitude-suckers. Always covered by grey clouds, Self-Pityville makes you resent people without your exact problems and not notice they have different ones. You'll cry a lot there and forget to be kind to others and--as I said--it's super hard to locate the exit within the darkness.

Besides, so what if I inherited the teeth from my dad's side of the family who usually end up toothless and with dentures? What's the huge deal? It could (I remind myself) be ever so much worse. 

Much, much worse.

But having teeth yanked from ones head isn't all that horrible. That is, unless I carry my woes to Self-Pityville where they'll only grow faster, uglier and more painful.

And why would I ever choose to do that?

“When we pity ourselves all we see is ourselves. When we have problems, all we see are our problems and that's all what we love of talking about. We don't see the good things in our lives.”
― Ann Marie Aguilar


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“Self pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.” 
― John Gardner

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I was so sorry to hear about the death yesterday of Mary Tyler Moore. The Dick Van Dyke Show is my all-time favorite comedy and I also enjoyed The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as well. I own dvd's of both and will most likely watch a few episodes today.

How grateful I am that Mary didn't hide her gifts, but rather, shared them with us so they can still be enjoyed even after her death.

And how important it is that each of us share what we've been given!


.... here are Dick van Dyke's words recalling Mary.

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