Under Pressure

I’ve been clenching my teeth in my sleep for a lot longer than I want to admit. I even bought a mouth guard and started wearing it at night a few months ago. But honestly? Over the past few weeks, I started noticing that my teeth on one side of my mouth are more sensitive to temperature – and I realized the joints of my jaws were sore. My poor teeth! Clearly, I’ve put them under pressure. (Yes, follow this link.)

The extent of that pressure became sadly and abundantly clear this evening when a piece of one of my molars actually cracked off. Good grief! I took a photo of the piece of my tooth that ‘just couldn’t take it anymore,’ which allowed me to magnify it. Although it’s kind of unpleasant and a bit embarrassing, I’m posting the photo anyway.

I’m posting it because I’m astonished at the cracks I see striating my tooth. It’s sobering to contemplate just how much pressure my jaws were putting on my teeth – some estimate up to 265 pounds per square inch.

It makes me think about our country and the pressure we’re all under right now as well. It feels as though my broken tooth is a metaphor for what we’re witnessing play out in our country as a whole for generations. That’s how long I think the pressure has been building.

I also think if we put our country under a microscope (or even zoomed in on it with our iPhone cameras – which perhaps is what we did with all the ‘selfies’ and videos taken during the insurrection and attempted coup on Wednesday) we would find as many cracks in some of our foundations as in my tooth.

Something Has to Give

It seems to me that something has to give. It’s obvious that the status quo is unsustainable.

I believe in the principles upon which our country was founded. But I think cracks are appearing and pose an imminent threat of breaking us apart if we don’t apply the principles we hold dear uniformly and fairly.

We’re all still reeling from the debacle that unfolded in our Capitol grounds just three days ago. The rampage exposed a lot of cracks.

I want to believe we can still shore up those parts that have cracks. Perhaps make them stronger through relieving the pressure and desperation felt by so many. Maybe we can do that by sharing the foundational concepts (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) more equally. It’s hard not to crack under pressure when you can’t afford food, shelter, or health care – particularly in the midst of a pandemic that you’re told is a hoax – so get back to work – if you even have a job.

It’s even harder to feel free, or heaven forbid, pursue some happiness.

Weight and Hope – 9 January 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Heavy and Light

Right now, the future we’re facing looks like the photo above: There’s huge and pretty dark pressure weighing down on all of us right now. But there’s light at the edges. And it’s exquisitely beautiful.

I feel – even if only tangentially and in my own pretty darn privileged way – the pressure and desperation felt by so many in our country. It’s hard for me to find the words to convey how much I want to contribute to shifting our collective reality toward what we all seek in our hearts.

I truly believe that the way we’ll relieve the collective pressure on all of us individually and on us as a country enough to avoid cracking and breaking apart is to realize we’re all in this together. It’s so simple, yet so complex. We need to get back to those founding principles but this time – really and truly have them apply equally to all.

Post-Script

Can’t hurt to take a look at the lyrics to Under Pressure as we contemplate where we are right now. I’ll admit – I never listened to them as closely as I did tonight – when the title to my post appeared before I wrote any other words. And now, as I go to copy and paste the lyrics here (while you’re hopefully listening by clicking on the link, above), I realize it is the 4th anniversary of David Bowie’s death. I just got chills. This very well may be our last chance.

Mm ba ba de
Um bum ba de
Um bu bu bum da de

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure that brings a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Um ba ba be
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da that's okay

It's the terror of knowing
What the world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming Let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people people on streets
Day day de mm hm
Da da da ba ba
Okay

Chippin' around kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
Ee do ba be
Ee da ba ba ba
Um bo bo
Be lap
People on streets ee da de da de
People on streets ee da de da de da de da

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher higher high
Pressure on people people on streets

Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?
Love love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love that one more chance
Why can't we give love give love give love give love
Give love give love give love give love give love

'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the (people on streets) edge of the night
And loves (people on streets) dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure