Appreciation

So I just removed the cast from my right hand. I was supposed to go have it removed five days after I actually took it off. It smelled awful and the cotton was fused with my skin at parts. I can't make a complete fist right now and it is possible that I never will again. I also can't straighten out my ring finger actively, I have to use my other hand to do it. I also have a sizeable interruption in the straightness of my fourth metacarpul. I don't know if I spelled that right. If you know the proper spelling, leave a comment please.

I have never appreciaited more the joy of typing with both hands. Having that cast off has given me a new found appreciation for many mundane things. The joy of taking a complete shower, sans garbage bag. The pleasure of writing and seeing my old chicken scratch, which had been altered by the cast. I never would have known these little joys and pleasures had I not broken my hand in the first place. The wonder of having that cast off is worth having had to wear it.

This situation has caused me to think, what else am I missing? I mean, there is a whole world of sensations and pleasures and experiences I may never know becaused I have never been deprived of certain things. What is it like to eat after going hungry for two weeks? Or to speak after a month of silence? And how wonderful would it be to take off a pair of shoes you have been wearing for three months? I may investigate some of these questions further. Sort of like what Morgan Spurlock does, but with the focus being on the experiences right after the return to normalcy rather than the ones concerning the abnormal.

If I haven't given you enough to think about already, think about the most beautiful painting you have ever seen. Find a copy of it, stare at it for an hour, then imagine squiring the artist around with you for one average day. Could you spend the rest of you life with this artist?