I missed writing this column last week because the night before deadline I was on the floor of my shop trying to fix a baler which had broken that afternoon.
It involved cutting a rusty bolt while lying on my side and I cut my right thumb. The tendon required a stitch and I spent the evening getting that seen to at the hospital.
Some stress there as I am less able to function in my mechanical repair duties without the use of the thumb on my right hand.
I need no sympathy, just understanding from my co-workers, and I have that.
The main point I am making here is that if you don’t feel on top of your game and you are undertaking a dangerous or potentially dangerous activity either at work or at play, listen to your body.
If you are not rested and relaxed, give the activity a pass until you are in the right frame of mind and physically alert.
Don’t take this from me, but from an authority on the subject.
In my case, the authority is my partner’s nephew who several years ago broke his back skiing and now is a recovered paraplegic.
He was the coach of the Canadian Junior Freestyle ski team and he was demonstrating a difficult manoeuvre to the team. When he landed from the jump/turn, he hit some ice and fell, snapping his back.
Fortunately he was near the Denver hospital, where some of the world experts are for the treatment of this kind of injury.
Within an hour of the accident he was in the operating room. Then came the months of excruciating recovery. He now skis, but he is not former self.
Fortunately he had a business degree and was able to create a new career as a safety coach and as a motivational speaker. His name is Mike Shaw, and he recently did a TED a talk on his experience.
He told me early on in his recovery that it makes no difference whether you are doing extreme sports or just doing your everyday work; that was his work, extreme skiing.
His body had given him an indication that maybe he shouldn’t be doing that move that day.
His audiences in his new work are both workplace safety groups and sports interests, among others.
We are so pleased with his almost miraculous recovery and his resilience in his work. He is functioning highly in his safety work and he is able to ski and do other sports.
Ranchers and farmers too need to listen to their bodies or to their subconscious before they do that risky thing: getting on an untrained horse, or using dangerous tools when not in the psychological space appropriate to the task.
Something told me I did not want to work on my machine later in the evening.
During haying season, we try to be up to date on our repairs by the time the weather conditions are ready to be back in the hay field. Make hay while the sun shines. It is the only time!
Decisions on when to cut, when to rake (or condition) and when to bale all involves some stress. We have to watch the forecasts and the daily happening in the weather.
If we cut today, is their enough time to have the crop dry enough to bale before a predicted rain shower?
There is stress enough in the daily “getting at it” at the right time, that when something unusual happens like a breakdown, the redoubling can put one at risk.
Let me say that as we age our wisdom does not always overcome our reduced physical stamina and capacity. You can take it from me if you want: take care of yourselves and listen to your body!
David Zirnhelt is a rancher in the Cariboo and member of the Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association. He is also chair of the Advisory Committee for the Applied Sustainable Ranching Program at Thompson Rivers University Williams Lake Campus.
MORE FROM DAVID ZIRNHELT: Back in the saddle