Hidden Treasure

26 months.

I've been to the orthodontist three times in the last two weeks. Let's just say I had to go back twice to have him fix his errors, and that the subsequent pain was so intense, I went back and made him figure out how to fix THAT. He has now introduced me into the world of "orthodontic elastics" aka rubber bands, connecting my upper left molar to my lower left canine in an effort to move my whole lower jaw over to the left to properly align the teeth. The great irony here is that the pulling has actually made my teeth feel better.

Time Out New York's Joke of the Week is this:

Lil Wayne told the women on The View that his diamond and platinum grill was actually "his form of braces." I'd love to meet the orthodontist who looked in his mouth and thought, Hey you know what might fix this overbite? Treasure.

Though Robbie Collier meant this to be funny, I can't stop thinking about it. I love the idea of slightly hidden treasure--when the mouth is closed, no one can see it, and the mouth is open, Abracadabra! Jewels! I'm starting to view my own mouth in this way, as I can finally start seeing the fruit of all of this 26 months of labor.

In yoga class yesterday, our teacher introduced the concept of santosha which is broadly defined as contentment, but in the context of not needing more than you have to achieve contentment. He challenged us to find the ways that one can feel content moving within and in harmony with one's circumstances, even if they are difficult, whether it be a complicated yoga pose or life situation. I feel like I'm moving into a new phase of all of this, a certain santosha, that no matter what gets thrown at me (including rubber bands moving my jaw diagonally across my face) it doesn't seem to cow me the way it used to. I am simply looking it in the eye a and letting it look back. As Joseph Campbell said, "It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure."

Lil Wayne and I may disagree on exactly the nature of that treasure, but for now, I've made my peace. I'm in a state of santosha. Whenever anyone asks me how much longer the braces will stay on, I answer with "Who knows?" I told a friend I'm getting very AA about it, just "letting go, and letting God." It's up to the universe to decide, and I'm not fighting it anymore. I'm looking it in the eye. I'm inviting it to tea, and offering scones.

(And adding perhaps a bit of rum to that tea is treasure indeed.)