Zen and pierced ears

I spent 27 minutes trying to put on (put in?) earrings this morning. I'm still a novice. I got my ears pierced just a few months ago and I wore the stainless steel "trainers" for 5 months, never daring to take them out because I didn't think I could get them back in by myself. I got three pairs of earrings for Christmas, but as of my birthday in April, I still hadn't worn them.

Ruth gave me a pair for my birthday at the end of April and laughed at my reluctance to wear them. Now it is June and I've finally taken out my trainers and have started wearing my new earrings. However, I'm still quite inept and typically allow at least 15 minutes extra to put them in. As a point of comparison: my hair takes less than 30 seconds to sweep forward with my fingers. No comb or hairdryer required.

This morning's lesson in patience was due to the extra dexterity required to match these two pieces by feel alone.


I tried looking in the mirror, but that was too hard. The task is often complicated by the fact that I don't have a dominant hand and I switch back and forth trying to figure out which one should hold the ear while the other finds the hole. Many days it's just too much trouble. I give up and don't wear them. But I don't want the holes to close up after all that trouble.

This morning was particularly difficult and I dropped the tiny stopper (or whatever you call that little thing) umpteen times. As I neared the limits of frustration, I suddenly realized I was being offered a lesson. I finally took a deep breath, saw it as an exercise in Zen breathing and Zen patience, switched hands, and found the mark.