Before the visit, my nervous energy about this life-changing decision I recently made meant I have several questions that cropped up at different times of the day resulting in calls made at different timings. The lady who took all these calls was very patient -- amused no doubt but never missing a beat and provided very clear replies.
This morning, I could not find my way there and had to call the receptionist. It was another lady who picked up the call and equally friendly. Her pronunciation was not very clear though and I had some difficulties understanding her. However what I found interesting was she has a certain self-awareness about her limitations and took pains to spell out 's-t-o-o-l' as she explained that I know i have reached the place when I see "colourful stools on my right" (I kept hearing the word "school").
When I reached there, the ladies at the receptionist counters were professional and friendly, with an easy-goingness in the air -- there was something more which I could not quite put a finger on then. The missing piece in the puzzle came as I stepped into my dentist's room, meeting the important person who will be with me in this 2-year journey for the first time.
My dentist was a kindly middle-aged gentleman who has a very congenial smile that sets one's heart at ease very quickly. He took my bags and offered to put them on a stool for me in a warm demeanour, not of the sleek type. I always love to observe the interactions between a dentist and his/her assistant. Much can be gleaned from the small actions from each individual, which is difficult to fake in a small room with many tools and wires around you. What I found endearing was how they relate to each other in a very respectful manner, treating each other almost as equals.
What touched me most of all is a huge painting of a cottage house set against a lush green field with an overhanging soothing sky on the wall right in front of me. It is obviously there to provide a relaxed visual focus for the patient, many of whom would obviously not choose to step into a dental clinic if given a choice. For some reason, this meticulous act touches me a great deal.
And while the screwing, tightening and adjusting was going on at the dental's chair, I suddenly realised what it was that I felt earlier at the receptionist area -- there was happiness pulsating in the air.
It was not the outrightly ostentatious type but a quietly contented type. Because the genteel dentist himself appears to be a happy man, the staff under him and his dental clinic appears to emanate a touchingly sincere spirit that I must say is hard-pressed to find in a clinic these days.
And then it dwells on me the true meaning of a 静思语 that I have been reading this holiday -- 有快乐的老师， 才会有快乐的学生. It makes me wonder how happy my students are when they are in my class?
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