Adversity and a “slice” of life

The other night I was preparing chicken fettuccine for dinner. As I was chopping up some leftover rotisserie chicken, the tip of my wedding ring finger got a little too close to the knife. It’s three days later, and I’m still sporting a gigantic tape wrapped bandage on that finger.  And my friends tell me it could be “awhile” before it’s out of bondage. I can’t play my guitar or piano, which puts a cramp in my music therapy session planning not to mention a damper on my own musical needs. It’s surprisingly difficult to type, hold my coffee mug, and simply do lots of the everyday activities I’m used to doing.

Now I don’t mean to sound like a whiner about this. It’s a finger, and it will heal relatively soon. I’m much better off than others who have to deal with major medical diagnoses, chronic pain, or permanent changes in their ability levels. My finger injury– a minor inconvenience. But I’m writing about it because it’s made me appreciate adversity.

And adversity is something we all have from time to time in varying degrees.

So how do you deal with it? How do you know when you’ve moved from “normal levels of adversity” to “affecting my ability to function in daily life”? Often adversity requires that we depend on others for help during those trying times. Do you have a support network of people you can depend on? These people can be friends, family, clergy, or professionals. How are you at asking for and accepting help? Have you identified some ways to care for yourself when adversity happens? What are your resources?

It’s so important to think about those questions before adversity finds you again (because this is life after all, and you know it will!). Have a plan, make a list of activities you can do and people you can call, and be prepared. In the meantime, please be careful when you’re chopping chicken. 🙂

If you’re curious about how music therapy and GIM might help during times of adversity, contact me anytime.  I’m always happy to answer questions!