{"id":57581,"date":"2024-04-25T15:35:05","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T13:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/?p=57581"},"modified":"2024-04-25T15:36:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T13:36:04","slug":"in-the-dentists-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/in-the-dentists-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Dentist’s Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes, everyday life is better than secluded meditation to get to the bottom of one\u2019s own soul. When we talk about thinking, feeling, and willing, I see a dance\u2014I think of my soul as something that manifests and expresses itself in movements. But there are days when it seems more like a knot or a fight. Then it\u2019s all: \u201cI don\u2019t think so. I don’t feel like it. I don\u2019t want to.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like this morning, at the dentist. I\u2019m rushing over the hill because I’m late, and I’m annoyed with myself for it. That’s why I keep pedaling so hard: so I don’t have to be embarrassed because I’m late. I feel ashamed in advance because (if I’m honest) I don\u2019t feel in control of the day. I instruct my legs: \u201cCome on, faster!\u201d They do it willingly, but then it reminds me of a bicycle accident years ago, and I put on the brakes again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I lie in the dentist’s chair, I am tense, even though the two dental professionals above me speak like angels, and I know that they are doing excellent work. I try to breathe in this knowledge and turn it into a feeling of calm. I breathe in a way that relaxes me. But then, bad news: a wisdom tooth has to come out soon. \u201cAnother one!\u201d I think. My heart sinks and contracts, but I want to appear sensible and mentally push myself ahead to objectively weigh the options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time I’m able to leave, I’m exhausted by fear and worried about what’s to come. I would like to indulge in a childhood tantrum and stomp off, but I restrain myself. I get on the bike, prepared to compose myself. Serenity\u2014where is it in me? I take a moment to look at the first pink flowers of spring against the ice-cold gray above me, and that helps me a little to un-knot myself. I look at the pink and feel: irregardless\u2014it is I who thinks, feels, and wills.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Translation<\/strong> Laura Liska
Illustration<\/strong> The Goetheanum Weekly<\/em> graphics team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, everyday life is better than secluded meditation to get to the bottom of one\u2019s own soul. When we talk about thinking, feeling, and willing, I see a dance\u2014I think of my soul as something that manifests and expresses itself in movements. But there are days when it seems more like a knot or a fight. Then it\u2019s all: \u201cI don\u2019t think so. I don’t feel like it. I don\u2019t want to.” Like this morning, at the dentist. I\u2019m rushing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9335,"featured_media":54265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8796,8793],"tags":[11495,11456,8819],"class_list":["post-57581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-column","category-philosophy","tag-english-issue-17-2024","tag-2024-11-en","tag-seeds"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9335"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}