Our Gifts...

photo by Scott Cunningham

"We all start out with no discipline, no patience, no perseverance, no determination. We all start out at zero. People say, ‘You have talent.’ No, the gift is to realize that we all start out even. Whether we messed up or put our best foot forward, with these four qualities, we take care of our mental, physical and spiritual health each day. Am I the best in the world? No. The question is: Am I the best I can be?"

Edward James Olmos

We, as end of life caregivers, are consistently told, "I don't know how you do it...I could never do that kind of work."

Maybe we don't always know why we can do this work, but we recognize that we CAN do this work. What brought us to this work is unique and individual. What is common, is our openness to visiting the haunting and the unknown...believing in the human capacity for transcendence and life altering growth...believing that the deepest emotional abysses can create visibility to life's treasures.

Every person has 'gifts' to offer in this life. Personally, I am grateful for my tax accountant, as I openly acknowledge that I have no 'gifts' what so ever when it comes to numbers and math. Equally, I feel responsible to exercise and pursue my social work in end of life care, to the best of my ability, because this is what I have been gifted with.

Thank goodness for the diversity and complexity of the human race.