Jamming Your Finger

Somedays, life just feels like you’ve jammed your finger. If you’ve ever played basketball and have accidentally caught the ball wrong, it’s easy to jam your finger. It hurts. The pain is sharp and targeted, and it’s even easy to break your finger if the ball comes at your hand hard enough.

For some reason, it just feels right to process this day today with a post called, “Jamming Your Finger.” Not only did I jam my finger pretty badly the other day, it also got me thinking about how normal and okay it is to have jamming finger moments, moments that aren’t labeled as objectively joyful or happy. It’s also totally normal to have moments that aren’t easily noticed as sorrowful, either. I tend to write about joy and sorrow a lot, but today I think it’s worthwhile to give voice to the whole world of emotions.

Somedays, I may have an overwhelming sense of anger flood my moments. Other days, I may be really anxious and fearful. Other days still, I have been annoyed, or upset, vibrant, or even malicious. And in a day’s time, I may feel all of these things to some extent! I’m not saying that every emotion is objectively good, but I am saying that they can be helpful indicators for us. My counselor told me recently: your emotions need not be masters over you, but they can be really good servants.

So, today, maybe you feel like you’ve jammed your finger. I sure do. It’s been a day that’s not all that glamorous, filled with lots of boredom and loneliness (what’s new these days?), and I don’t really have anything profound or encouraging to say about it. But maybe that’s just it. It’s okay to not have the glamorous day to speak to, maybe these mundane moments have just as much to say about life and the way it should be as the day that knocks our socks off.

Technical glitches on a conference call with my students. A cloudy day. Unfolded laundry on my bed. Day old hair. Unfinished projects. Sitting in the same plush, black chair for days and days on end. What’s new? These are my mundane moments, and though I’m not the biggest fan of them, they’re still teaching me something.