Nasal swab. Ewww … it just sounds awful doesn’t it?! I’ve had some occasionally recurring COVID symptoms which I felt sure were allergy-related. For peace of mind, I finally decided to get a test.
The nurse said, “Are you ready?” And I said, “No! Everybody says this is just awful.” He told me he’d had it done three times so far, and though it is tough, everyone survives just fine.
He said he “only” needed ten good seconds so he wouldn’t have to do the other side. We can do anything for ten seconds, can’t we? I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched everything I could think to clench and said, “Ok, do it.”
My first thought was, Oh yeah, this is pretty bad. But it didn’t get worse after the initial insult, so it was better than I thought. I stayed clenched with my eyes shut and waited for him to tell me he was done.
The doctor came in and they started talking which puzzled me because they didn’t sound like they were close to me. I thought he was holding the swab but I decided he had left it in and walked away.
At any rate, I was certain it had been longer than ten minutes, I mean ten seconds. I opened my eyes and he was on the other side of the room with the doctor. The swab was gone and so was he!
I would have sworn the swab was still in my nose, but it was over. When I separate how long I thought it lasted from how long it really lasted, I think it was less than ten seconds, maybe just five.
I probably stayed tensed up for twenty seconds, just waiting for someone to tell me it was over. Had I been paying better attention and staying present, I might’ve known that myself.
I was so busy blocking out the most horrific discomfort I could ever imagine that I blocked out when it ended and made myself suffer longer.
We brace for the absolute worst far too often and hold our defensive positions much longer than necessary. Some things are, but most things aren’t as bad as we expected.
If we stay locked up in a defensive position just in case hard times come again, we’re focusing more on avoidance rather than the beauty of the present moment.
Let’s trade yesterday’s pain and disappointments for today’s serenity. The past is over. We don’t live there anymore. Let’s remember that and embrace today in a relaxed, optimistic posture. Joy is waiting!
P.S. My test was negative. I suspected that but now I can be sure I’m not unknowingly putting others at risk. Next week I will share another lesson this experience taught me about trusting our intuition so we can avoid unnecessary discomfort. Have a great week!
