This morning on my way to work we happened to have stalled in traffic (nothing unsual there) not so far from a beautifully built buidling I had visited one Saturday almost two years ago; actually I remember that day vividly like it was yesterday.....

I had come from a certain meeting in town and passed via my office in Mikocheni. While at the office, certain events took place that really pissed me off and I decided to take a walk home to cool off; only thing is that it was 3pm in the afternoon, in the month of January and the sun had decided to have a party, so it was blazing hot! Half an hour into my walk, I saw this nice building on to my left and decided to get in for some "window shoping". Obviously, this route being my usual way to and from home meant that this was not the first time I was seeing this building, only that I had never really had a "chance" to get in there.... but today, I had all the time in my hands..... (and no, it was not a ploy to escape the sun).

You see, prior to that day, I had been having some on-and-off toothaches (or should I say teethaches since its more than one tooth that was aching?), but I had been putting off the whole idea of visiting the dentist for obvious reasons: the (in)famous dental drill. Strangely enough, on this particular day all the "faulty devices" in my mouth were aching and as a result, my head was also aching, not forgetting that I had walked under the son for like half an hour, and the fact that I was pissed off...... yaani it was a cocktail of issues that day.

By now I'm sure you must have guessed that this beautiful building I'm talking about is a Dentist's joint.... And since I had all the time in my hands that day, I walked in and asked to see one. From the look of things, I think the first reaction the receptionist had as soon as I walked in was to call the guards because 1. my feet were so dusty from walking I must have looked like I'd gone there to beg; 2. my entire demenor did not look like that of a person who could afford their services; 3. my attitude was all wrong because if you do recall, I was still pissed off and it showed on my face; 4. I obviously didn't have an appointment, and for a first time patient, I didn't look too convincing..... but all in all, the receptionist managed to mask her uncertainty well and welcomed me.

The dreaded "Dentist's Drill"

After paying the consultation fees and a down-payment for the job that was meant to be done to my teeth (much to her shock), I went into the much dreaded room and for almost 3 hours, my tongue was battling with all the foreign objects that were being used to "repair" my teeth. At the end of the session, the dentist had extracted my wisdom tooth, he had root-canaled two teeth, and had repaired (read filled) like four others......but the one amazing thing is that the crazy pain I had been feeling (especially from the wisdom tooth) had considerably gone down, and so had the headache. After one week, I went back to have the root canaled teeth filled, and as a complimentary, all my teeth were polished. Since then I haven't been there again but I am planning to go back to have my teeth polished again.

So this morning as we were driving to work I couldn't help but wonder why it took me so long to visit the dentist to have my teeth sorted out; does it mean if I hadn't gotten pissed off that day nearly two years ago I'd still be having issues with my teeth today? If that were the case then probably most of them would have fallen off by now, and I wouldn't be laughing or smiling as much as I do today.... Or maybe the pain woud have driven me bonkers by now..... or maybe I'd be having stinking breath 25 (not a typo) hours a day...or maybe...... the list of "maybes" could be as long as you want it to be.

The truth is, though the process of having the decayed tooth removed was painful, though the process of having the root canals and fillings done was very uncomfortable, I had to go through "that pain" in order to stop "THE pain". You with me? I mean, I had to go through the pain of being anaesthetized on the gums (9 jabs by the way; and for those who just asked that question, yes, my blood is drug free), had to go through the discomfort of having tubes and drills and all manner of other gadgets having a field day in my mouth, had to stretch my jaw and control my tongue for the entire duration the dentist was working in my mouth...... I mean, even my toes were aching by the time all that was done -Yaiks! But I had to go through all that so that the constant pain that used to keep me awake at night could be totally eliminated.

My experience with my decayed/"faulty" teeth is no different from situations in our lives.

Some of us are in/have been living with the pains of hurting relationships, just because you fear stepping out and leaving a gaping hole in your life. But which is worse, the hole or the pain? Maybe the man is struggling so hard to win back the heart of a woman who (unknown to him) has clearly been using him as part of her strategy to "get-rich-effortlessly". She cares more for what is in his bank account than what is in his heart account; in short she is a gold-digger - and a fool! Dude, for how long will you live with that kind of pain? Asking yourself questions like "am I not enough for her? What does that other guy she's going out with have that I don't? (Do you really want an answer to that question?) My advice to you is: make up your mind and decide to live with the pain or at peace, but with the hole left after you extract that "tooth".

Then there are those friends/family members who laugh with you when all is good and rosy; when you have money to take them to the movies and buy them rounds in the pub; or when you are wallowing in self-pity together.....until you hit a jackpot or get a promotion at work or start a business and it becomes very successful, and then their true colors start showing! The hating games begin; they start spreading rumors of all kinds; they follow your every move, not because they are happy for you, but because they are looking for ways and means to bring you down! Wow! With such fiends friends, who needs enemies really? If this is not a classic example of a decayed tooth, then what is?

And what about your job, you have been in it for so long that you've reached the ceiling; you know you cannot grow beyond your position any more, and as a result, you feel unhappy and unsatisfied with what you are doing. However, you have grown so comfortable in that seat that you fear stepping out of your comfort zone; but how long will you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Isn't that insanity? You need to see that dentist soon; your breath is stinking! Maybe you don't have any decayed teeth, but you might need to have your teeth cleaned....(Figuratively speaking of course)

Oh yeah.... I almost forgot those "rotten teeth" that are caused by some habits that are more likely to break you instead of make you. Habits such as backbiting, rumor-mongering aka umbeya, flirting leading to mpango-wa-kandos a.k.a nyumba ndogos, the chips/sausage funga syndrome, envy leading to damaging office politics, home wreckers, etc......Such habits are bound to cause some serious stink; in fact, at this point a skunk scores "zero" in comparison ....

Scenarios are way too many to play them out on a single post. The truth is, we all need a dental check up (pun intended) every so often. We need to check our teeth and extract those that keep causing us pain every so often.

Living with constant pain, or living with fewer teeth but no pain.... the choice is (y)ours.