Thank You for the Flannel

You should be thankful for your fingers. The fact that they work as well as they do. I had never thought of it until last night but an older woman at the gym mentioned it. I was putting my contacts back in. And for a moment I admired my hands and listened to her wisdom. I meant to practice gratitude before falling asleep last night. I believe it was the Dalai Lama who taught that each night before you go to sleep, it is good to remind yourself of one thing you are grateful for. This will cultivate a grateful heart. And a grateful heart is one of the keys to happiness. I have done this on many occasions and I have to admit, it does help. It also becomes increasingly difficult to only find one thing to be thankful for in the course of the day. You start thinking about all sorts of possibilties. Or I do, at least. I meant to be thankful for my fingers before drifting off to sleep... but I didn't get to be until this morning. It slipped my mind.

I had taken my contacts out yesterday because I was going into the sauna. For the first time. I read that it helps to flush out toxins and helps blood circulation. It also helps metabolism to increase slightly. I will admit that before being told to be thankful for my fingers, I was staring at my hands and my feet in the sauna. The veins became very prominent. VERY FREAKILY PROMINENT. But, when I got out they went back to regular size. I also used the locker room and the showers for the first time. I do believe I will be using all of this more often and I'm glad I got past my fear about not using them.

I am working on becoming a well oiled machine. My professor described athletes that way... talking about how well their cells work due to their level of fitness. They are "well oiled machines". I want to be a well oiled machine. I guess that's what I'm working toward here... in as many aspects as can be. And it can be exhausting but eventually, hopefully, I'll get it down.

One area... wardrobe. I fixed a long time ongoing problem last night. I had this horrible, ugly, gross flannel that I wore every day in here... year in and year out. A friend gave it to me when he left for the military. Slipped it into my locker so I saw it the next day when I got here. I used to borrow it all the time before he left. And to him I have to say "thank you for keeping me warm". However, I mean, this thing was worn thin and I had started to feel embarrassed about using it. But... out of laziness I still did. Last night I text a co-worker while I was at home and asked him to throw it out. He did so. And today I am wearing a sweater from home instead. I feel better and not only is this machine working on moving smoothly, it wants it's look to be sleek as well.

And tonight I will be thankful for my fingers because they provided the ability to text my friend, which provided me with a little more pride in my appearance. And that's a good thing... or should I let go of the fingers things since I was thankful this morning... and just focus on being thankful for all the years my friend kept me warm. Or maybe I should be thankful for my friend. I think that's what I'll choose. I will be thankful for the friendship of a specific friend... but there are so many people to be thankful for... see what I mean about narrowing it down?