Day 5 – A Cracked Wheat Berry Is Stuck in My Teeth

When I simply have the time or when I courageously wrestle it from a calendar packed schedule, either way, I marvel at where my mind wanders. Today I was in line for a free refill of coffee at Tully’s when I noticed that my tongue was flicking at a wheat berry stuck in one of my molars. That seemingly mundane discovery led me down a serendipitous path of musings.

It seems of late that my teeth are more susceptible to sticking to small morsels of food. Whether it is beef stuck in a gap between incisors or a raspberry seed stuck in an enameled crevice, the incidences of these phenomena seem to be increasing. I wonder if my propensity for this particular annoyance is a result of physical changes due to aging or to a greater awareness of something that has been occurring since I began to eat solid food. Either way, I wonder about what this particular type of aggravation is meant to accomplish.

Maybe I’m putting to great a point to it but one possibility seems to be that it captures my attention, slows my mind and pinpoints my thinking. As a result I’m released to wonder more freely. All too frequently these days I catch myself thinking about the next item on a long to-do list or the email I must write or the appointment that needs scheduling. The distraction of a stuck wheat berry wraps my attention holding it captive until by toothpick, floss, or matchbook cover I dislodge the particle and find relief. Here’s the kicker; the relief comes not only from physical release but also from the focus of my otherwise fragmented thinking to be single-minded. For those few refreshing moments, my mind reboots itself of the cultural clutter and, as a result, I am free to wonder more fully.