To Brandon Brown,
I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter. I can see that as a CCM student at NCNM you have already begun to develop a well-aware and holistic point of view.
Insurance companies are businesses, designed to produce monetary profit, make a positive gain from one fiscal year to the next.
Despite this one-sided business planning, I believe that change is always possible, and your economic reasoning is more than fitting. I agree that it would more beneficial if programs were in place to support individuals that chose preventative medicine over last minute resorts. Strength and speed with the promotion of that idea!
Your comments about personal relationships with death are more than apt. I applaud your thoughtfulness and well rounded approach to the subject of dying; it was in a word, insightful.
I wish, too, that the responsibility of self was not seen as a daunting task, reserved for those that seek enlightenment. Rather the process is seen as simple, designed for anyone. Learning patience and compassion for self, and in turn for others, is necessary to “bow out with an open heart.” The imagery you suggest of bowing denotes surrender and not that of a fight or a need for a sense of control.
Humans seem captivated by stress, struggling within self-induced, self-constructed conflicts, buying into systems that are not sustainable to themselves or that of the surrounding community or environment. Our litany of current events serves as ample evidence for this.
Being a literary geek, I liken life to that of The Golden Thread, first coined by William Stafford, and later described by inspired poets throughout countless well-worn pages. If life is truly one’s personal thread, woven with interactions and experiences with other people, then for me, the undone quality that you reference signifies a period of time where two strings were interlaced haphazardly, without thoughtfulness for each piece involved. Perhaps forming knotted messes that one would care to “just move on from” instead of untangling the moment right then, in the thick of discomfort. These moments appear as snags in our road maps of life, where we are unable to truly move forward due to tension that results from our unsightly disruptions.
Over time, our health reflects just that. An educated health practitioner is taught how to examine the landscape of the body and how the patterns of disease overlie and affect a patient.
A keenly observational health practitioner can identify snags on the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual levels, and in turn, uses a specific tool set to restore balance and harmony for each individual patient.
In regards to each patient’s personal thread: knots and tangles get exposed, and the vulnerable disheveled comes into view. Individuals who choose to fully embrace an unveiled view of their personal tapestry can move forward and begin the process of change. Those that choose not to assess and address these binding life experiences, well, let’s just say that the tension does not go away unless the lines are cut. Dying under catapulting circumstances can appear a little frightening, and if that’s not reason enough t change, well, perhaps in this lifetime, this was the lesson to learn.
I am thankful that you chose to enter the field of medicine and health. We’ve got a lot of knots to examine, may compassion and patience help to loosen any tension that may come your way.
Enjoy your summer
vacation,
Smiles,
C. Biscuit