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Meet my meaty hand - it is healing.

It is quite neat.

About two years ago, when recovering from my burnout and consequently getting a full spectrum bloodwork done, I gave 8 vials of blood in one go. Felt like I was donating blood. Anyhow, this resulted in the largest and most colorful bruise on my forearm I’ve ever seen. As it healed, it changed shape, color and intensity. Half way through the healing process I wished I had taken a picture a day to create a cool timelapse.

Earlier this summer, I ripped off some skin from my hand while doing muscle-ups. But this time, I was not going to let a cool timelapse opportunity slip past me. So here you go, 11 days later - a fully baked gif.

As previously remarked, it is quite neat. Making this timelapse has made me think about the value of journaling and recording one’s life. Seems obvious, but timelapses operate on a different time-scale than our brains are made to experience. We simply don’t notice our wounds slowly closing, nor our plants growing, or for that matter, our mental health deteriorating or improving from day to day. Seems like, you blink, and your wounds are healed, your plant has sprouted a new leaf, but you are not doing so well mentally.

Recently I’ve been recording and journaling my life, and just as this timelapse, it has given me a different and valuable perspective on my life. At a glance, I can tell which way your mental health is trending, or that it takes about a week for your skin to fully heal. I find this to be not just quite neat, but super-duper neat. Hopefully, the journaling will help me on my journey.