Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Moral Solidarity


photo by grassrootsmsw


"There is no profit in curing the body,

if in the process,

we destroy the soul."

City of Hope
Duarte, CA

There are so many fine lines for health care professionals...
We make the commitment to cure and heal, while also making an oath to honor patient self determination and choice.

Above all else, it is our responsibility to remember that we are face to face with human beings who have stories and histories, that define them...long before we have arrived. Every line and mark on their face holds who they are and where they have been. We have a RESPONSIBILITY to recognize and acknowledge this...this is their story, not ours...despite all the knowledge, beliefs, or skills we have to offer. This is about honoring and placing patient and family experiences at the core of our work.

Ann Hartman, LCSW, and Dean of Smith School of Social Work, insightfully stated:

"Because many of our patients and families are powerless and oppressed, their knowledge has been subjugated, and their insights have been excluded from the discourse by those who are empowered to define the 'truth.' We must bring forth their wisdom, their lived experience, and their visions of the world."

THEIR truth...not ours.

Here is a moral obligation, and in a powerful yet soothing way, it is an opening for a creation of human solidarity.

-grassrootsmsw-

Monday, October 22, 2007

Hidden edges...


photo by grassrootsmsw

“Honor uncertainty. It's the seed from which all-knowingness comes…

Give it time.”

Mike Dooley

Sunday, October 07, 2007

The Walk of Pandemonium


photo by grassrootsmsw
Stanford University

“I have a great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift.”

Septima Poinsette Clark


The process of change
in the midst of death and life...
balancing and maneuvering
through sharp twists and turns;
not knowing how or when
the process will end or unfold.

Patience,
intuition,
trust,
belief,
and stamina
keep us moving forwards.

The determination
to stay true to the course
and make a positive difference
rumbles and stirs within us.

Despite a bureaucracy,
which often alienates
and removes itself
from the original 'human factor'
in it's goals and purposes.

We have not yet integrated
the old way of thinking with the new...
This is a significant juncture,
asking for our creativity and strength.


Let's allow the rumbles inside
to be silent "roars" of purpose...
keeping us steady and strong
on our path to change.

-grassrootsmsw-

Monday, October 01, 2007

Celebrating October 1st


B.M. Cahn

"It well may be
that we will never meet again
in this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part, so much of me
is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me,
like a handprint on my heart,
and now whatever way our stories end,
I know you have re-written mine...
by being my friend.
Because I knew you,
I have been changed for good."

Elphalba
from
Wicked


Dearest Baaazer...

Holding you close and celebrating you today and many, many, days throughout the year.

So many miss you...each and every memory reminding us that the honor and privilege was ours...

Sending love and laughter to you... always.