Life can be unpredictable, but there are silver linings
Earlier this week, I was chopping green onions — the perfect garnish for many meals. I was relaxed and chopping speedily, full of anticipation for the meal I was about to enjoy. Then suddenly, I sliced off a little piece of the corner of my finger.
My initial reaction involved multiple muttered swear words, anger and disappointment in myself — instinctive reactions to pain do not bring out the best in human beings. I composed myself, evaluated the situation and grabbed a paper towel to apply pressure to the wound, all the while I was at a complete loss as to what to do next.
I knew this was something too severe for me to handle on my own. I’ve sliced my finger before, but never this bad. Things were not going how I wanted them to. I could have blamed someone else for this, but it doesn’t matter who is with you or who agrees with you, you are always responsible for your own actions.
I asked my roommate to drive me to the emergency room and the medical staff fixed me up, but I’m left with a temporarily unusable finger. It was something quite unexpected for me.
Isn’t it amazing how in an instant, things can change drastically? There are certain things I love that I can’t do right now: I can’t go rock climbing, I can’t play guitar and I can’t do handstands.
But if I change my perspective things don’t seem so bad. First off, I still have my finger, thankfully it’s a minor wound, so it just needs to heal. Secondly, there are so many things I can still do: typing, texting, playing piano, video editing and even chopping vegetables.
Sometimes we get so focused on our problems and limitations that we forget to focus on our ability and potential. Everyone has limitations — learn to excel through them.
Problems will always be there, but they aren’t solved by wallowing in them. They are solved by fixing them. You’ll never solve a problem that you don’t admit to having. I had to acknowledge that I needed help in order to get my finger on track to be healed.
Life can be enjoyed while the problem is being resolved. I won’t let my finger be an excuse to not enjoy life, or to be lazy. I wasn’t planning on injuring my finger, but many things in life happen that aren’t planned.
Slicing my finger made me realize that sometimes life is unpredictable — we need to be ready for anything and willing to make the most of every situation.
There are many uncertainties in life, and many things we don’t know. It’s OK to not know something. We must not give up just because we cannot see today what is coming tomorrow. Life would probably be boring without the mystery of not knowing what happens next.
Every day is different, we have no idea how many possibilities there are around us and how much potential there is inside each of us. It doesn’t matter if you can’t see it yet — it’s there.
No one else can fulfill your potential. Unexpected difficulties will come, but don’t them stop you. There is a joy to be found in the mystery, and peace in the uncertainty.
Andrew Brand can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @theandrewbrand