The Random Draw

By Doctor Lynn

Reaching into the drawer, I pulled out a pack of pens. One pen was missing from the package. I love these pens because they write so smoothly and are so cheap. I get them at the dollar store. Eight pens for $1.25 – that’s a great deal! I am a note and list maker. I love to list chores or the menu for the week, so I keep these pens everywhere in the house. I keep the pens at my desk, in the junk drawer, in the pantry, and next to the phone. I even keep them in the bathroom if I get inspiration or need to remind myself of something by writing a note. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I get them done.

The right pen makes list writing so much more fun. That’s why I love these pens. The black ink spreads smoothly across the notepad. They don’t leak or smear; when they run out of ink, I throw them away.  But when I was a child, we used pens that had refillable ink cartridges. If you had a favorite pen, you used it repeatedly by replacing the cartridges. You got attached to that pen. It was your pen; if it was an expensive pen, it was a status symbol. Now, I love the nonidentity of my pen until it is empty, and then I discard it. Life has become more convenient, cheaper, and easier to throw away.   I put the pens back in the drawer with a little more thought. I miss my inconvenient, more expensive, keep forever pen.

 Doctor Lynn is a Naturopath, yoga therapist, published author, international speaker, and video producer. Featured in Redbook, Reader’s Digest, Huffington Post, Shape, SELF, other national publications, TV, and Podcasts.  She is the author and producer of the Soul Walking series, Weekly online Zoom classes, and therapy classes at SMH. A wife, mother, and grandmother, she lives in Sarasota, Florida.  http://www.doctorlynn.com