I'm Grateful I Jammed My Finger

Recently, I was whipping up lunch, adding a few extra ingredients to my salad and feeling good about it, kind of over-confident in the way I was preparing it.. If that’s even a thing. Then I opened a drawer, grabbed a fork, and when I nonchalantly went to push the drawer back in I for some reason I still had my hand down on the counter-top and I jammed my finger as the drawer closed. It hurt, so I started shaking it. I felt a surge of adrenaline, but fortunately it wasn’t so forceful that I was worried about doing any serious damage.

I tried to overcompensate in practicing what I preach and I said to myself “I am grateful I even have a finger to get slammed in the first place”.

In that moment, I knew how ridiculous it was to have that thought. Yes, gratitude is important, but in this context it seemed like a little bit of a stretch. I started laughing at myself, and guess what happened? I started feeling better! The pain went away, my heart rate settled down, and I recovered quicker than I otherwise would have.

As forced as it seems in certain situations, gratitude has a way of delivering perspective and real physiological benefits. The truth to this case is, there are many people who don’t have a finger, whether it’s congenital or amputated. Having fully functioning hands is something I’ve taken for granted.

It takes time to default to gratitude, and I am far from there but I’m definitely on my way. Important things have more meaning, and I can’t be bothered by less important things. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to incorporate a gratitude practice in your day. It takes 2 minutes, write down 3 things you’re thankful for.