Someone broke my favorite kitchen knife today. I had been using this knife for years, almost every day. Seems silly but it is one of my prized possessions because of how much value it has brought to my life. It’s just a knife thought. I bought it at the store as part of a set and it doesn’t have a history. It’s just a knife that I bought.
It was an accident and the person who broke it was very apologetic. I told them that it’s ok and I would try to fix it later, after all it’s just a common knife. This got me thinking about how I would have reacted to this a few years ago, I would have been angry, would have probably had lots of negative thoughts about this person for being careless and this simple event would have ruined my day. But it’s just a knife, and I can probably repair it.
It’s strange to think about how our reactions to loss, however trivial, can change dramatically if we reframe our outlook. It was nobody’s fault that this happened, even if they could have been more careful, it’s not a huge deal and using a different knife won’t change my life in any significant way.
But I would have reacted with anger in the past, not only about this but about many things that used to fill me with rage but now don’t phase me, because in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter, we will survive and overcome.