Day 7 - 30 -- Re-learning old Skills

I've been getting used to the new ergonomics of health the dominant arm. It will be several more weeks before the tendons and ligament tears heal. There is improvement each of the past three weeks, but so much more is needed. When moving snow, I've switched to a narrower shovel and use the non-dominant arm to push and lift -- both actions the dominant arm cannot do yet. Challenges exist when working with a new weighting of the shovel and dependence on only one arm to do the work creates need for different posture and balance of the body -- as well as balance of the shovel <smile>. It will take practice, though I'd just as soon not see any more new snow in the front yard this year <grin>.

Learning new skills can be difficult. I suspect my situation is similar to other alterations in ergonomics outside of an injury such as getting used to the weighting of a new kitchen knife or even a new guitar. All require balance and retraining the brain to understand how best to used the new item in a functional and comfortable manner. Practice and patience become necessary traits. Tedium or boredom can set in as patience with the practice wanes. For some items, one can simply return them and try a different new item. In an injury situation, one can't return the dominant arm, in this case, and move on to old routines. I'm attempting to see this as a challenge for the brain -- to stick with the process and learn to do something in a different way.

When heading out for dinner, I came upon a sub-group of the large contingent of crows that gather for their evening discussions of their daily escapades. As I stood on the road and watched them in the trees, as a single entity they rose up and flew off towards the larger group. The rush of wings was amazing to hear overhead. It made me smile and feel privileged to have been a witness to this group thinking process. That led me to a song that fit with the musings of learning to shovel differently -- odd but it worked. <smile>

Learning to Fly -- Tom Petty