Day 35

         So, it's day 35 since my knee injury. I started slowly walking on it with a knee brace by day 10, and the swelling went mostly down by day 24. But then I had a slight relapse on day 31... new year's eve. I began to resume my nature walks, which I had made a habit of throughout my thirties. So I went to the river nearby for a feet cold plunge. Upon my research of knee effusion prevention & knee injuries, I had learned that cold plunges were actually very beneficial. So I tried it, with just my feet to start, and I made it to 20 seconds of feet plunging! It really burned, like pins & needles. But my warm socks & boots made for a really nice foot sauna afterwards. 

        On my slow, careful walk back, I had a bit of an obstacle set before me. I had to find a way to step down from a snowbank onto the dirt road. I did not have my crutches or cane with me, just my knee brace. So I had to be strategic on how I would step down from the bank without impacting my knee again. I thought, if I stepped down on my good knee, then most of the impact would go onto that leg and would keep my injured knee safe. So, without further thought, I stepped down onto my good leg.... But as I was already in motion, I realized that I should have gave this obstacle a bit more thought.... Because what happened next was... I think you can gather what happened next. The momentum from the first step down propelled my body forward, forcing me to take another step with almost as much force.... 

        Well, you can imagine what happened then. I took the next forceful step on my injured knee. It hurt. I didn't collapse, which was good. And I managed to walk back to my car, but it was painful. And so I relapsed. What's the saying, "for every one step forward, you must take two steps back..."? This was a lesson in mindfulness. If only I had took the time to think just a bit further beyond my first thought of action, I could have prevented this relapse. Isn't that what they do in chess? Always thinking 3 or more moves ahead of their opponent? Well, that is what I learned. Not only do I have to slow down in my physical action, I must learn to slow down in my thought process. Hence, mindfulness.