challenge: Day 26

Close-up.

Don't ask me why my close-up today was of a lamp that sits on my bedside table. Maybe it was boredom, maybe it was philosophical, maybe it was just stepping out of the box. I don't know. But once I took it, I liked it, and then I stuck with it. 

It got me thinking.

I just finished with my three work days. I know it's hard to stir up any sympathy when my work week is composed of 72 hours, 36 of which I physically reside at work. And reside is a word I use because 12 hours is half a day. As if you didn't know that. But what goes into those 12 hours sometimes amazes me. 

Some call it pure adrenaline. Some call it pure crazy. Some call it a....I guess a calling. Well I'm here to tell you it is 100% all that and add in a sprinkle of full moon madness this past week. 

It's amazing what all can happen in those precious hours. People come, people go. Situations come up when you have to be quick on your feet, and swift with your responses. I've only been doing this for a few months, but I already have learned so much. And it keeps on going. 

So, when I reach for this lamp, to shut the light on the day (or in my case, night). I am thankful to have made it through another shift. A shift where I have worked hard to keep my patients breathing, keep their hearts beating. To lend a hand when they are weak. An ear when they need to talk. And to ease their pain. One 12 hour shift at a time.

Now, that's a close-up.

Quote of the day:

"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."

-Alan Watts