Amazing, though, how gratitude washes away the Mondays – or fear – or anxiety – for me, at least. As I pulled away from work in my air conditioned vehicle, with tires in great shape and full gas tank, I drove on paved roads – passing an ambulance on its way to the exact place I was leaving for the day. I picked up my smartphone and called my family who was all safe and sound within our home, getting ready for an evening of rest. I had the luxury of silence on my way home, able to process the day, and I thought about the coding specialist who identified cost savings, the nurse who agreed to write an article for professional publication, the physician looking for ways to expand our integrative medicine capabilities, the manager diligently filling her team with the right candidates, the manager who secured emergency resources for a patient, the nurse who identified process improvements, the social worker who protected a patient from harm, the nurse who offered to come into work if needed, the pharmacist who spoke up about an environmental concern, the leaders who entrusted an issue to my hands and mind, the colleagues who helped me with an intensive, new process…and those are the examples I thought of in the first five minutes. I paused thinking of how blessed I am to work with such exceptional people.

And as I realized how blessed I am at work, making a prosperous wage, I pulled into my home driveway and entered my air-conditioned home, warmed by the love of a healthy family who needn’t even think about where the next meal will come from because the scent of supper, from a bubbling crockpot, was filling the rooms. I took a warm shower and put on clean clothes, only to be met by one of my children asking to spend time with me.

Rough day? What rough day? Gratitude is self-care for my soul.