When you lose a baby tooth, your body begins a conversation with itself. Throughout the day, your body checks in with itself and says, “Wait a minute. Something’s not quite right. Please investigate.” So you investigate. Your tongue taps around blindly in your mouth until it lands on the socket where the tooth used to be. “Ah, there it is.” Again and again, until the new tooth has grown in, your tongue keeps returning to that same spot, reconfirming that all is not yet resolved. The adult tooth eventually comes in. If you didn’t know better, you could easily get confused. You could think it was your tongue, repeatedly probing around in your mouth, that allowed the new tooth to finally grow.
Except this isn’t how teeth really work. Your teeth grow because it’s what teeth do–not because you keep assessing the state of your mouth with the tip of your tongue.
Same goes for worry. Something happens, you experience loss, frustration, disappointment. Your mind goes round and round, feeling at the situation form every possible angle. Eventually things resolve–but not because you anxiously attacked the situation, again and again, with your thinking mind. Things resolve because it’s what things do.
About the Author: James Robbins is a licensed professional counselor, published author and co-owner of Dallas Whole Life Counseling. He has over 15 years of experience helping people in various life stages that come from a wide variety of cultural, economic and family backgrounds. Learn more about his background by clicking here.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.