Christmas gifts...

Well, the day of Christmas is now a memory once again. The gifts have been exchanged and the packages unwrapped. Time with family - in this case with a sister-in-law who hadn't spent a Christmas with her family for about 40 years! What a gift - both for her and for us.

The gift of community (in this case family) was evident as my parents (working on 72 years each) and my extended in-law family got together to celebrate on Christmas Day. I found myself musing on the benefits of sharing stories as well as food - and the benefits on our personal and collective health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). Smiles were evident as was laughter, we shared reflections of the year gone by, we shared - we found a moment of peace and grace.

In this vein of communal sharing and peace, I received a copy of the book, "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals". The theme of praying together, even when we are separated is powerful and healing. The idea that when we pray as individuals we join the prayers of all others and we do the work of the kingdom - we create a different and "other worldly" community that is based on something larger and more powerful (and transformative) than ourselves.

So, in our post-Christmas time together, let us share our prayers for a world that is different. Let us take time to be bold enough to ask for that which will heal us as individuals and as communities. To ask for that which will improve our HW2. Be bold and be ready to be active in this new endeavor.

Peace,
Dan

"Reason Integrally Considered"...

Today's pre-Christmas post comes to you from Dean Brackley's "The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times" a great book. In Chapter 17 he is discussing "Ten Touchstones for Discernment" - ten important pieces to foster and facilitate truthful discernment. The first touchstone is "Reason and Science" and he states:
"To understand reality and act well, we must use our heads. We must observe, read, remember, question, interpret, think and dialogue. In short, we must reason. And we have to do so systematically. We need the sciences - philosophy, psychology, the social sciences and all the other disciplines. Yet reason by itself is not enough. Reality is reasonable, but we are naive if we suppose that reason alone can take us to it. Because reality is vast and complex, and because of our biases, getting at the truth requires reason integrally considered - that is, reason enriched by experience, practice, imagination, and affectivity; reason rooted in personal transformation; reason drawing, critically and creatively, on wisdom-traditions."

One of the main flaws in our search for health, wellness and wholeness (HW2), in my opinion, is that we are not using "reason integrally considered" in order to get out of the mess we created. Albert Einstein is purported to have said that our problems can not be solved using the thinking that created them. We have fallen into the secular trap of believing we know everything and thus can create models of HW2 that will solve the current problems with our episodic intervention portal.

Take another look at the quote above from Brackley...reason integrally considered employs reason that is enriched - not just everyday reason. It brings into our thinking our experiences and our personal transformation. By default then, if we are not transforming ourselves through careful consideration and thoughtful employment of spiritual wisdom-traditions, then we can not achieve visionary reason. We will be stuck with our everyday reason, and I have every belief that we will continue down a path that will not improve our HW2.

So, how can we get our reason to be integrally considered, not only as individuals but as communities and nations? One key aspect is to begin to name the idols that keep us in bondage - primarily the free enterprise anarchy (economy). Our pursuit of the "almighty dollar" to the exclusion of 45 million persons who are now below the Federal poverty line, is a social injustice of mamoth proportions. The fact that the Department of Corrections is now the largest provider of mental health services is another sign of our lack of integrally considered reason. There are so many other examples.

My wife came up to me this morning and said that 2011 will be a year of discernment on peace. I suspect that it will become a little more manageable in size, but this a kind of informed reason that can make a difference in our HW2. I invite you into reson integrally considered in your own situation to see what might be created. Let 2011 be a year of personal transformation and wisdom.

Peace to one and all,
Dan

"Raise the Dead..."

Today's post is brought to you a day late due to collecting Toys for Tots with my faith community. Typical of the season, too much crammed into too little space - but all for a terrific cause. On to our post...a troubling one in many aspects. At the point in the ministry where this statement is given, Jesus has healed many, but has not raised anyone who has died. What can the disciples make of this instruction then?

Physical death is a reality of living - the natural end to a life. Even our cells have a natural life expectancy and a process of dying (called apotosis) that is programmed into them. Things go terribly wrong (i.e., cancer) when cells circumvent this apototic pathway and become immortal. Jesus was not talking about physical death, he was talking about spiritual death. Raising the dead from the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" thus was directed at a people who had lost their way spiritually and had become people of the world rather than people of the Book .

Spiritual resurrection is a common theme, especially at this time of the year. The coming of the Messiah, the season of light, etc, and the darkness of the time of year, all feed into a longing for renewal. It can be a time for reflection and introspection - a time for re-ordering priorities and resolving issues. It can be a time to look beyond ourselves to that which truly gives us life and thus "raises us" from the worldly death that surrounds us.

It is unclear how "successful" the 12 were at these four tasks. However, the scripture accounts do note that larger crowds followed this rabbi - to the point of feeding 5,000 and 4,000 respectively. Something was happening that people took notice of. The miracle was less about the food and more about the community that was gathering; about the healing and sharing leading to wholeness.

So, in this time, may you be spiritually renewed and re-born. May the light of the season come into you and drive back the darkness. May your health, wellness and wholeness become a beacon for others to be drawn to and healed by. May you find peace and joy and love.

My very best wishes to you all,
Dan

"Cast out Demons"...

The third in the series on actions of disciples of Jesus. What does this mean, "cast out demons" - are we to be like "The Exorcist" and literally make demonic entities leave their possession of people, or is there another possible meaning that makes sense in our modern (or post-modern) age? What if anything does this have to do with our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2)?

I think that everyone has a mental picture of what a demon looks like. That Hollywood creation that has wings, a pointed tail, horns, talons, etc. Something malevolent that is seeking to do all the protagonists harm and that lives in "hell". Is this how theologians understand demons - and is this a correct interpretation of scripture? I refer the curious reader to the works of Walter Wink, John Howard Yoder and Paul Tillich for some much needed exposition. However, these are often unapproachable for most persons. So I also refer you to a blog (experimentaltheology.blogspot.com) and postings on demons by Richard Beck.

Most scripture is silent on demons - what they look like and how they act. We have a few Old Testament and New Testament references, but for the most part demons are associated with worldly powers and institutions - those creations of humans that often supplant the teachings of scripture and allow us to sin (sin here meaning anything that fractures our relationship with God). In this way, the institutions and the lifestyle created by humans are the things that become demonic - that possess us and keep us from taking care of the widows and orphans.(see the book of Isaiah) It is in fact, what all of the prophets railed against - those ways of living that were not "right".

Thus, the need to be able to recognize demons (as Jesus was able to), to name them, and to circumvent their power over us both individually and as a community. For those of you familiar with Jesus stories, think of the three temptations of Christ by Satan. They were all worldly or ego-inflating temptations (ones we struggle with today) that he quoted scriptural truths to prevent them from gaining control. Demons were always afraid of Him because he could see them and their false teachings and send them away. Oh, that we had the same vision!

Thus our ability to cast out demons comes from our ability to use our relationship with God to keep ourselves centered on what is important. Loving our neighbors as ourselves and our God with everything we have within us. In this way we form loving communities that can help to cast out the demons of society and to root out the causes of social injustice. In this way we will improve our HW2 - in fact, in my opinion and world view, it is the only way we can truly and finally improve our HW2.

Wishing you the peace and joy of the season.
Dan

"Cleanse the Leper..."

This post is a reflection on the second of the instructions from the rabbi Jesus to the disciples about what they were to do. It seems a bit dated for today, as leprosy (or Hansen's disease) is an infection that can be dealt with through modern antibiotics. What might the rabbi have been referring to then - and how does it play a role 2000 years later in our lack of health, wellness and wholeness?

If we look literally at the disease of leprosy, we now know that it is not very infectious, that it takes a long time to manifest itelf (like most Mycobacterium infections), and that with proper treatment and early detection the disease can be eradicated and the person can live a "normal" life. Now, this wasn't true 2000 years ago in first century Palestine - where those with leprosy ("lepers") were shunned and were placed apart from the general population. Jewish law had an elaborate process for declaring persons "clean" and thus allowed back into society. Since it wasn't until the late 1800's that the cause of leprosy was discovered - once a person contracted the disease and manifested the lesions and disfigurement that characterize the disorder, they were ostracized.

Did Jesus literally mean for the disciples to miraculously cure all persons with leprosy, or did He mean something else? The social stigma of leprosy is often much worse than the infection or any physical symptoms. Even today in parts of the world, persons are shunned long after the infection is cured and they can no longer cause the disease to be transmitted to others. Persons are kept from every day life and relationships - they are as isolated (more so) than if they were incarcerated in a colony. This is true of those with HIV (and full blown AIDS), alternative lifestyles, different ethnicities, felons, etc. The words "cleanse the leper" refer to our offering sanctuary and relationship to all those ostracized and isolated by the wisdom of the world.

So, how do we go about this? One is through educating ourselves about the risk; and becoming advocates for those who society isolates. The second is to love our neighbors as ourselves and to model that behavior to others. By doing these things, we become true disciples and create a world of welcome instead of a world of barriers.

During this season of Advent, season of light, and all other seasonal spiritual metaphor, let us truly open our hearts to those who are alienated, isolated, "unclean", and let the light of Jehovah shine into their lives and ours.

Peace and joy,
Dan

"Heal the Sick..."

Today's post comes from the New Testament of the Bible - a snippet of a much longer aphorism of Jesus. This saying is delivered to disciples who I think were pondering just what it meant to follow this rabbi. Jesus was quite clear in his response saying, "heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." But what does that have to do with mere mortals - especially those engaged in trying to improve individual and communal health, wellness and wholeness (HW2)?

Many would suggest that what the current healthcare system is engaged in is exactly the mission of a disciple - healing the sick. However, in most if not all metrics, our "system" does very little to heal sickness - especially that which is not physical in nature. Many theologians suggest that the rabbi was not just talking about physical problems (since 2000 years ago there wasn't much to do for those anyway) but rather the disciples were to heal spiritual sickness as well. Most of the healing stories are as much healing of the relationship between the person and God as they are about physical healing.

At Possibilities Journey, Inc, (www.possjrny.org) we feel strongly that there is a spiritual component to every disease or diagnosis. We know that there is an epidemic (maybe a pandemic) of loneliness in our world - even though there are more people than anytime in history. Loneliness wounds and kills millions of people every year - and it is totally preventable. Fear, anxiety, alienation, stress, jealousy, greed, anger, are all spiritual issues that we are called upon through our belief in a power beyond ourselves, to heal. Our current secular and physiologic foci will not allow us to do this within the Episodic Intervention Portal that currently exists.

So, what do we do? We begin to heal the spiritual sicknesses of the world by becoming positively involved in each others lives. To ask the question, "How are you today?" and really mean it (and wait for the answer). I asked that of a dear friend last Sunday at church and he replied, "I'm not answering that question today." Hmmm, there's something more happening in that space - and when I followed up, it appears that lymphoma has recurred. My friend, who has been dreading this day since his first bout many years ago is now suffering greatly - primarily from a spiritual perspective. How do I help him heal? I remain a fixture in his life and engage him in a discussion about what is causing his illness.

I ask you to look beyond the surface of those around you to see the hidden sickness. Then I ask you to get involved. If you don't know how to do this - drop me a note on the PJ website and we'll work together to improve HW2.

Peace and grace,
Dan

Spiritual wisdom traditions and HW2

Today's post comes from a reflection on the role of spiritual wisdom traditions in creating and maintaining health, wellness and wholeness (HW2)of communities. While I'm going to specifically reflect on my own wisdom tradition (that of Jesus) wisdom traditions abound in all major religions (e.g., the Jewish wisdom texts of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job) and serve the purpose of broadening our worldview. This change in viewpoint allows for a change in action and activity which has historically brought about healthy communities (with notable exceptions when the wisdom has been mis-applied).

The wisdom tradition of Jesus teaches followers (disciples) that they are to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength; and to love neighbor as self. This love creates and environment that emphasizes the needs of the other over the self, and thus intimately ties my own HW2 to another. How has that wisdom tradition been subverted here in the U.S. healthcare system? Note that many of our hospitals are (at least in name) affiliated with Christian doctrines (Catholic, Adventist, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran...) yet, they function as secular entities (personal experience in most if not all of these). How have the hospitals in the U.S., especially those with doctrinal ties, failed in their mission to love neighbor as self and to affect change in healthcare payment and practice in order to achieve this?

It's unfair to lay all the blame on institutions, as they are made up of people, and care for people who should be advocating for the "narrow way" as well. The system (or not) that we are saddled with now, is a result of decades of leadership (local and governmental) that failed to see the problems of the current approach; an individual hospital or system focus; the divorce of the spiritual from the physical. If we are to truly reform healthcare, then we must (in my opinion) look to our wisdom traditions to inform our worldview. We must acknowledge that we do not know everything (and never will) and that all people will die (it's a part of life).

We are a long way from walking through the narrow gate in the Jesus tradition - in healthcare reform and in life reform. Recapturing the wisdom traditions and using them the improve our HW2 is what Possibilities Journey, Inc is all about (www.possjrny.org). Come with us in 2011 and let's become wiser. BTW, if you're looking for a tax shelter at the end of the year, it's easy to donate to PJ at our website - we're a 501c3, so everything is tax deductible.

Peace,
Dan

Learning together...or not

Today's post is stimulated by an ongoing dialogue with colleagues about how we learn and about whether or not "evidence-based medicine" will ever be mainstream. There are many wonderful things about the human body and psyche, there are also some really troublesome and tiring things about the human body and psyche. That sentence was profound, wasn't it?! I think, however, that it is often the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge. The dark side of all of us that knows what to do, but like the typical teenager (at least in my house) does the opposite just for spite, or because they want to.

Learning is a complex process of trial and error, of reading and applying, of analyzing and discerning and then putting into action - or when finding an idea or concept lacking in verity, re-studying the problem. Humans appear to learn better when they are in dialogue about a topic and differing positions are presented. When the arena for debate is open and welcoming and allows for all to learn from each other. Healthcare learning has historically been "see one, do one, teach one" which allows for some grave misadventures. The trainer may or may not be cognizant of the best techniques or up-to-date knowledge, thus the learner perpetuates out-of-date knowledge.

This came home to me just last night as I attended a mandatory parent-student session in my 17 year olds Driver's Ed class. Seems that I was still adjusting my side mirrors "the old way" and holding the steering wheel in a less than optimal manner - who knew? That information had never been disseminated to me, and even though I've been driving for more than 30 years, I had never come into contact with this information. this is true of our healthcare practitioners as well. We all lead such busy lives that we can not keep up with the amount of data that are published. No matter what search engine we employ, or how many hours we decide to devote to "keeping up", there is no stopping the amount of data published. I'm talking about the best research - you know, randomized, controlled, double-blind, adequately powered clinical research. The mass of less than optimal material that is available is staggering. Unfortunately, this is what is most often picked up by a news media and well meaning persons (WMP's) who are "researching" a malady - but who don't have an adequate science or statistical background to know when a study design is fatally flawed.

Once we do learn something new, there are not adequate venues for sharing our knowledge. As my experience showed from last night, I will now share with my wife, and we will tell others, but that is piecemeal and less than optimal distribution. How can we learn to do better? One way is to engage with each other in a dialogue about our health, wellness and wholeness. Create environments and groups for open sharing about what we know - and more importantly, what we don't know. That is what Possibilities Journey (www.possjrny.org) is up to for 2011. Informed dialogue that helps all of us learn and makes us all a little bit better.

Hoping that you all have had your influenza vaccine by now - if not, there's still time to get one. BTW, the evidence suggests that it is about 70% effective at preventing the flu. ;-)

Peace,
Dan

Engage with Grace

In preparing for this post, I was reviewing the Blogs that I routinely follow and on E-patient.net I discovered "Engage with Grace" (www.engagewithgrace.org). They have created a one slide end-of-life discussion starter that they commit to sharing every time they give a talk, and especially around the table at holiday time when families gather. What an interesting and meaningful way to start a conversation about something that will happen to all of us (death), but that we avoid more than going to the doctor! They have created one slide with five questions on end-of-life issues that operate on a 1-5 Likert scale. Very easy and very meaningful.

I'm preparing an end-of-life talk right now that will be presented to faith communities and other interested groups. This slide will be my new lead-in to the discussion. I encourage you all to go to the Engage with Grace website and download the slide so that you can use it in your own discussions over the Holidays. Those of you who give presentations, I encourage you to add the slide to your talks (as they suggest). In this way, a healthy discussion can ensue that could greatly (and positively) affect our lives (and our deaths).

Engaging with grace...such a strong theological idea, such a great opportunity to make a difference in how we all engage with our finitude.

Peace and grace to you all!
Dan

Post Thanksgiving Thoughts...

Today's post is a reflection on issues around poverty and how to make a dent in a world-wide problem. I was involved in a very good discussion earlier this week about the potential to create a new training program for folks. The program graduates would be eligible to earn a salary of $10 to $12/hour plus benefits. One of the participants in the meeting raised the point that this was NOT a living wage in the D.C. metro area. She called out attention to a website (www.epinet.org) that allows one to calculate a living wage based on number of wage earners and number of children. It was eye opening to say the least.

This discernment brings up a really important aspect of changing the poverty equation. That aspect is that we have to rethink how we develop programs for those in poverty so that they can actually earn a living wage. The living wage calculation in the D.C. metro area is about $17/hour for each wage earner (just over $35,000/year). Now, with health insurance reform, this number could drop a little bit, but certainly not below about $15/hour for each wage earner (about $31,000/year). There are not many jobs for untrained people that will pay this much. Thus, there needs to be a reality check for businesses, educational institutions, governments, and individuals who need to be able to pay people this amount in order to live.

How does the faith community (broadly defined) respond to this social justice issue? Is there a mechanism to leverage the people who are pre-disposed to social intervention to address some of these larger societal issues? How do we as individuals use sites such as EPI to help inform ourselves about the broader issues of health, wellness and wholeness (HW2) encompassed in having now 45 million persons living in the U.S. below the poverty line?

There are no easy answers nor are there "one size fits all" solutions to a problem that is many years in the making. The problem deserves our attention and deserves our intervention. I don't know what my faith community will decide on this issue. I do know, however, that we are now better informed on the issue of what constitutes a living wage.

Peace and wisdom,
Dan

Do No Harm...

Sounds easy, doesn't it - just do no harm. Yet daily (multiple times each day) we injure each other with our words and actions. No, it's not just limited to harm in the health care arena (as some would have you believe), rather it is ubiquitous. The real issue is that when we harm each other through words and/or actions, our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2) suffer tremendously. Our communities become less friendly and welcoming, we distrust one another, we look out for ourselves and our families and ignore the needs of others.

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving started with one group (Native Americans) looking out for and being friendly to aliens in their land. What would have happened if the natives had treated the "illegal aliens" the way we do today? Not hard to see the likely outcome, is it? Instead, the natives helped the foreigners to settle in and to become successful in their new land. The "Americans" showed those new to the area how to survive and how to make the most of the land that they were living in and on. The "Americans" took a chance on friendship over war and went on to suffer great indignities because of it.

Do no harm...interesting to consider this on this week dedicated to focusing on giving thanks. How can we do no harm to anyone this week? How can we do no harm as individuals, communities, organizations, and a nation this week? When we operate out of a mentality that says I will treat you as well as I treat my own, I will not harm you with my words and/or actions, then we operate on a totally different plane. Our interactions are open and honest, they are warm and welcoming.

So, this week do no harm. Tell people around you what you are doing and enlist them to do the same. If you do, then we will be in a very different place come next Monday than we are today.

May your week be joyous, loving, and harmless.

Peace,
Dan

The Paradigm of Hurry

Today's post comes from the book "Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryan Smith. In the last chapter of the book, the author writes of a conversation between Dallas Willard and John Ortberg. The latter was asking the former what he should do about a new and challenging opportunity. The answer from Mr. Willard was, "ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." Wow, I had never thought of "hurry" being such a barrier to getting things accomplished, or to my relationship with God and others.

The phrase has continued to work in me (as truth so often does to us) and I have found that much of my life (both present and past) has been spent in a state of hurry. As an ICU practitioner, I was always in a state of accelerated pace, and early on I learned that in order to be effective in that environment I had to be calm while all around me the world was falling apart. Thus, I could be moving quickly but not in a rush - so to speak. I think this is where the admonishment, "haste makes waste" comes from. "Keeping your head while all about you are losing theirs" is a quality of the most effective ICU practitioners - and other leaders.

The peaceful center did not emerge in my spiritual life until just recently. The concept of quiet contemplation leading to directed and purposeful action is now a focus of what I do in my role as Founder and EVP of Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org). If I'm not spending time in prayer and preparation, in discernment about focus and path, then I will be pushed around by the capricious worldly winds. If I can not find the place to trust that the spiritual "nudge" I'm feeling is of God, then I can not trust that "all manner of things shall be well" (Julian of Norwich).

So, for the rest of the week, and for the upcoming season of Advent, I wish for you the ability to "ruthlessly elminate hurry from your life". Don't rush from one party and event to another or from buffet to buffet. Don't rush to be the first one to the open bar or to the car after drinking too much. Don't rush around the shopping malls or internet spending without a purpose and a plan. Eliminate all sense of hurry - cultivate peace in your center and move outward from there. Spend time at the beginning and end of each day in prayer and thanksgiving.

May you move purposefully without hurry.

Peace,
Dan

It's Time

So I've been musing on any different aspects of our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2) both communal and personal. This musing has not just been in this Blog, but in my "day job" as well as in my spiritual life. One aspect of our dis-ease as humans keeps coming to the forefront - that of our view of time. I was reading an interesting chapter in James Bryan Smith's book "Good and Beautiful God". Did you know that the clock was invented by monks who were dutifully trying to keep track of both their work time and their worship time? It wasn't until a few centuries later that the clock began to take over our lives and we started to live by it rather than by the amount of daylight (the electric light bulb furthered this process).

I find it fascinating that an invention which fostered better worship by those dedicated to it was, over time, used against just such a practice. How we humans can mess things up! Efficiency versus meaning all over again - we have to produce so much in a given amount of time or else we fail and suffer consequences. But what does all that devotion to an idol (a clock) get us? We get stressed out, we become more anxious than we ever were, we focus on tasks rather than relstionships, we beocme human do-ings rather than human be-ings. A spiritual axiom is that idol worship always demands blood sacrifice - and we have been bled almost dry by this idol!

It is a delicate balance to hold this tension between being and doing, between efficiency and meaning. However, we have gotten too far out on the efficiency side of life and have forgotten the meaning side. What does it mean that we are engaged in a certain activity? What does it mean for us to be spiritual people in a secular world? What does it mean that as a society we allow 45 million human beings (just in the U.S.) to live below the poverty line? What does it mean when we are so busy doing stuff that we haven't time to develop meaningful relationships with those around us?

All of this lack of meaning plays havoc with our HW2. When we don't take the time for meaningful relstionships, the health and wellness that we seek are impossible to find. We seek ever faster ways to prepare ever less healthy foods to eat "on the run" while we cram ever more activity into our lives. Mr. James Bryan Smith states, "It's no wonder that we have the attention span of a ferret on a triple cappucino." (Nice imagery, huh?)

So, slow down and take a deep breath, find some quiet in your busy day, don't answer the phone or your Blackberry e-mails for a few minutes. Focus on a beautiful tree, or scene; focus on a favorite memory; read some scripture; listen to some soothing music, etc. Try every day this week to just "be" in the midst of all of your "do".

I wish you much peace,
Dan

Decisons, decisions, decisions...

Sorry I'm a day late on this posting, but I had to make a lot of chili yesterday for a church-wide yard sale that kicks off tonight. Being an inclusive faith community, we made 3 different kinds of chili - meat, vegan and gluten-free vegan. Yes, no animals were injured in the making of our vegetable chili (in case you were wondering). All that having been said, I wasn't able to sit down with two thoughts to rub together until now.

Health, wellness and wholeness are often (always?) characterized by our decisions. We decide where to live, how to live, whom to live with, where to work, what to eat, etc. Myriad decisions make up our daily life, no matter what age we are. These decisions lead to our health and to our individual and collective dis-ease. Yet, we are living in a time where both personal and communal "wisdom" suggest that we are not to be held accountable for these decisions nor their very preditable outcomes. Thus, the fact that I might choose to drink alcohol to excess, eat every meal at a fast food franchise, smoke nicotine, watch endless T.V. (NCIS is compelling) is not really my fault, nor the result of my world view, rather I'm being acted upon by forces beyond my control and therefore I am a victim.

Interesting isn't it? I've worked my whole adult life with folks who suffer from mental illness - to a greater or lesser extent. One of the definitions of mental illness that I've found useful in being in relationship with people is that mental illness is the act of doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results! Hmmm, maybe we as a culture and people are all a bit mentally ill employing this definition. This is not meant in any way to demean the mentally ill, or to lessen the burden of mental illness or the suffering of those afflicted and their families, rather it is a means of broadening the reach to show that all of us suffer from our decision making when it comes to our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2).

We find ourselves bemoaning the fact that we don't have a very good health system, yet when someone tries to think outside the box to revamp it, we over-react and vote them out of office to maintain the status quo. We find every reason in the book to not change the approach to our HW2, because we don't want to have to change. Every day 2400 Americans die (1 every 37 seconds) from the complications of cardiovascular disease (Circulation, 1/27/2009 issue), yet we don't look at this as an emergency because no one writes about it in the newspaper, or in a Blog that we follow, or states it from a talking head on the evening news. Most of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease are modifiable through increased moderate exercise, change in diet, etc. In fact, if those decisions were modified and the leading causes eliminated, every American's life would be extended an average of 7 years!!!

Continuing the same old thinking and expecting different results is not working. Maybe out HW2 will improve when our ability to make decisions improves? Here's hoping for that wisdom to come and transform us.

Peace,
Dan

Healthy for Life

Today's post is brought to you by my reading of a book of the same title, "Healthy for Life" by Dr. Ray Strand. I was struck not only by the engaging way that the book was written, but also by the common sense, scientifically-based, even handed approach the author took to a very difficult subject. The title though, has been resonating with me even more than all the good information contained therein. BTW, I highly recommend you pick up a copy and read and discern about whether you are called to the life-style changes in this approach to eating and living healthy. I'm embarking on this process as we speak - I'll keep you updated.

Health for life is a great concept as it takes our tendancy to live episodically (from meal to isolated meal) rather than to see life as an integrated whole. Thus, what we learn at a young age about eating habits does indeed follow us through the rest of our lives. Our culture which promotes everything quicker and larger is killing us (statistics abound). The knee jerk response to an ever increasing busy-ness is to package our food into ever easier and quicker preparation, which diminishes nutritive value and promotes overeating. Thus, it is not just what we are eating that is the problem, it is how we are living.

I encounter this scenario a couple of times a week (at least during busier times of the year). It goes like this: my wife is out of pocket at meetings or on travel, the boys have activities, the dog needs to be walked and fed, I have work and activities, and what gets lost is the time to actually cook. What do I do? I default to fast food, pizza, Chinese take-out, etc. It gets something into bellies and we are off and running with a minimum of wasted time. Sound familiar? What I need to do is to off-load some of the activities and find my way back to living - instead of doing.

Many of my activities revolve around my church comunity and the public charity that I founded and now run. All good things mind you, but combined with teenaged sons and a busy spouse, life easily gets out of balance. The for-profit world of fast food and diet plans ($30 billion a year for the latter in the U.S.) understands our lifestyles and creates things to meet them - thus promoting a cycle that only serves to make us all less healthy and well, and certainly less whole.

My sincere wish and prayer for all of you is that you will take a moment before the holiday season to evaluate what you are doing in all aspects of your life. How is it that you are deciding to "live", and what effects are those choices having on your health, your relationships, your mind, your soul, all of the things that make you, you? Find the path to peace - we at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org) are engaged in this right now. Come along with us, let us know how we can support you in your search for health, wellness and wholeness.

Peace and wholeness,
Dan

Rights of Passage

A little play on words in entitling this "rights" instead of "rites", but I hope you'll stick with me on it. Now that the elections are done and the phone calls exhorting me to vote for this person or that person (or amendment) are finished, it's time to weigh what has occurred. The GOP has the House, but the Senate has really not changed all that much. My 17 year old wondered this morning what all the fuss was about, so I gave him Civics 101 at the breakfast table.

It was a good teaching moment, and it allowed us to look at the reality versus the hype. Aren't we in the U.S. all about hype right now? Whether it is professional ball players talking "smack" or professional politicos doing the same, we're surrounded by opinion which is more "heat than light". I found it interesting that one "talking head" last night suggested that because the American people are in a place of financial instability, that the election pendulum that we saw last night will not be the last one. He suggested that we should look for this type of voting for the next 3 election cycles. What a terrible waste should that occur!

If that is true, and it feels right in my gut, then what will we be left with once all the contrary voting and election are finished? I suspect that what we'll be left with is a whole lot of wasted time and money without significant progress on any major issue. Of note, the Christian Century magazine's current issue stated that none of the political parties or party nominees said one word about the 45 million poor people in the U.S. Nor did anyone say anything about how in 2009 we as a Country created more people below the poverty line than we have had since the 1950's!

Iniquity, in updated language inequity, in monetary allocation is rampant and we as a nation are doing nothing about it. It wouldn't take a huge amount of resources from the U.S. to eliminate poverty. However, our elected officials both locally and nationally will now spend all their time messing with healthcare to the detriment of all other problems.

Is this really what the founders of the country envisioned when they fashioned a democracy? Are the rights of the people really being championed by those who are elected to serve? Do the passage of bills aimed to foster iniquity of a minority over a majority really promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Friends, it's time to get off the rhetoric bandwagon, stop listening to the talking heads, roll up our sleeves, and create the Country that we want to live in. It will be a messy process, but it is clear that nothing short of this will get us healthier, more well and certainly will not fix our brokenness.

The only way to succeed is to rebuild dialogue and relationship, to care for neighbor as self, to realize that there is only one planet and that the resources of it were created for all to share in equally. Now, that's a platform that I can get behind.

Peace,
Dan

Nurturing Wholeness

Today's post is a reflection stimulated by my oldest son's 17th birthday and on the role of nurturing in the development of an environment which supports his growth and development. In other words, his movement towards wholeness.

Now, since he is a teenager, his world is pretty toxic. He's surrounded by people only interested in themselves, who are looking for the next "big" thing, who just want the newest technology, and who could care less about something like identifying their brokenness and working to heal that; and then there are all the issues with his peer group! ;-) How difficult it is to counteract the messages that bombard him. To show him that there is something more to the world than the news about sports (particularly professional football for him).

The process of nuturing allows for young entities to develop in a space that has been thoughtfully prepared. A space that provides them with what they need to become what they're intended to be. Now, this is a bit easier with vegetables or trees, as we "know" what they are to become - it is far more challenging with people - and not exclusively the young. Though we have a death denying culture that focuses almost exclusively on the young, the elders among us have a need to continue to grow and develop into what they will become as well. We often forget that none of us is through growing until we die, and that all are in need of a nurturing environment.

I think that is why I was so taken by the information on the Eden Alternative and the Green House Project. These two examples (and there are others) give me hope for my future as an elder. I also interact weekly with persons well into their 90's in a Sunday School. Though they are moving slower and have the physical limitations of aging, their minds and their need to feel valued and involved are are engaged as they were when they were "in their prime". Their wisdom and life experience are invaluable to me, and are a great gift, as I traverse this time in my life. They help to re-orient me when I lose my way as a man of faith and as a parent. Together each week, we create a loving, compassionate and nurturing environment where all can contribute, can decide direction for the class, and can feel welcomed and cared for - can feel loved unconditionally.

This is how nurturing can lead to wholeness. Nurturing an environment where all are valued, where all have input and where all are loved unconditionally heals our broken areas - in fact, it allows for that brokenness to be brought to light so that it can be healed. Without this tyoe of environment, brokenness remains hidden and we become less and less whole, healthy and well.

My prayer for you this week is that you would discover a nurturing environment for yourselves and for those that you love. May it heal those areas that are broken and lead you into abundant life!

Peace,
Dan

Efficiency versus Meaning

Today's post is a reflection on a keynote address video that I watched by Dr. Bill Thomas who founded "The Green House Project" (TGHP). TGHP (see: www.thegreenhouseproject.org) is a revolutionary living arrangement for the elderly where up to 12 elders live in a home-like environment, cared for by dedicated caregivers (Shahbazzim). Elders are given control of the daily life and allowed to flourish. For all of you with elderly loved ones, you really need to check this project out, and I encourage you to view Dr. Thomas' keynote video. The concept is akin to the L'Arche living model for disabled persons and their caregivers.

Many things struck me a "right" in Dr. Thomas' keynote, but the one that really resonated was his comments around the fight between "efficiency and meaning". Having worked in health care institutions for most of the last 25 years, I understand what he's talking about. In fact, much of the last 25 years in health care has been focused on increasing efficiency and decreasing waste (think Managed Care/Cost programs, etc) to the detriment of providing care. Dr. Thomas was reflecting on the need for efficiency in the average Nursing Home which has to serve many residents with a relatively small number of staff.

He contrasts the search for high efficiency leading to a decrease in meaning for both elders and staff. Meaning here being a spiritual concept that the elders are institutionalized to the point that they actually regress or increase their decline - and their caregivers are never allowed to progress either. TGHP elders and their Shahbazzim, however, show increases in functional capacity and their "developmental potential" (his phrase) is maximized. They find meaning in being given the reins to their elder years and life, and to having meaningful relationships which provide stimulation and love.

I was struck by how our faith communities have opted for efficiency over meaning as well. My own spends an inordinate (in my opinion) amount of time fussing with the budget, and relatively little time focusing on what it means for us to be a community of faith both internally and externally. We're supposed to be intentionally building community, instead we are intentional about building barriers to discipleship - and we aren't the only ones.

Dr. Thomas' words called to something that has been building inside of me - the reason that I created Possibilities Journey, Inc. (www.possjrny.org) I am searching for ways for folks to find meaning in their path towards health, wellness and wholeness. Now I've received an expanded vision that says that all stages of our lives, finding meaning where we are is a key point for finding wholeness.

So follow that link and watch the video keynote. If you're like me, it will give you much food for thought. It also may spark a search for meaning for you.

Peace,
Dan

Creating a Life with Margins

Today's post is a reflection on an exercise contained in the book, "The Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryan Smith. The exercise is on creating "margins" in our lives, and the positive effect that can have on our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). Margins in this use, is not a financial term (the net profit) but rather that space on a written page that helps to focus our eyes on the words.

Mr. Smith suggests that our lives are so filled that they resemble a page of writing that totally fills the page - no white space at all. Think about what that would look like - how overwhelming that would be to read. If you can't imagine it, go to your word processor and set up your margins so that they are as small as possible, then type some text. It doesn't feel right or good, does it?! We move from one item on our "to-do" lists to the next without a pause. We run behind because something gets in the way of our carefully crafted schedule that doesn't allow for the vagaries of life - for that unexpected turn of events. Once that inevitable event occurs, our whole day/week/life is thrown out of balance and we feel enormous stress and frustration. Does this ever happen to anyone out there in Blog-land? You can put down your hands.

So, how do we create margins? It starts by being realistic in looking at our days. How much can we really cram into the allotted time without driving ourselves nuts? Once you have the skeleton of what has to be done (be honest about "has to" versus "could be") then build in 15 to 30 minutes of down-time in the morning and the afternoon. This might involve getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning, or turning off the T.V. a few minutes earlier at night. It might involve taking a walk outside or even just around the building between meetings or projects. Be creative, and be ruthless about protecting this time.

With some space injected into your day, I suspect that you'll at first feel guilty for "goofing off" or "playing hookey", but my guess is that you'll also find a sense of peace and calm. If I'm a betting person, your co-workers will also notice that you have a different demeanor, and might even comment on it. Feel free to share your secret - in this way you will make their lives better too, and the HW2 of your community will improve.

I'd love to hear how this works for you. Comment back to me, either positives or negatives on creating margins in your life. Oh, and if you really want to do something good for yourself, get a copy of Mr. Smith's book and work through it during those margin times.

Peace,
Dan

Love versus Fear

Today's post is a reflection on our current living situation in the U.S. We live in the most affluent country that the world has ever known. Our standard of living is higher than anytime in the history of humankind. Yet, many (if not most) live out of a mindset of scarcity. We hoard - buying or building ever bigger houses, buying storage to keep all the "stuff" we buy that we can't fit into our larger houses, and then we purchase a "security system" to safeguard all our stuff (and possibly ourselves - though that threat for most is not realistic).

We are like the body when it develops insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) - the body starves due to the inability to produce insulin which can move sugar into our cells to produce energy needed to live. Without insulin, no matter how much sugar is in the body, the body starves to death. So it is with us when we live out of fear (psychological IDDM) rather than love (psychological insulin). Fear makes us not appreciate the bounty that we have, and thus we are unable to utilize that bounty to do great things (or even good things) and our spirit starves to death. With the death of our spirit, we produce ever greater iniquity (inequality and injustice).

All of the Abrahamic religious traditions talk clearly about the love of money being at the root of our human donwnfall. When money becomes an idol, it demands ever more of us - our time, our thoughts, our actions and eventually our children and their children, etc, to pay the debts we have accumulated. Our children's children might attempt to exist on a planet almost devoid of any life other than human and "farmed" or "zooed" animals. Our continued rape of the planet for our own greed and gratification will lead to this unless we learn again how to love.

We need a love infusion - just like that person with IDDM needs insulin. We need it multiple times each day for the rest of our lives. The good news is, we don't need to go to a Pharmacy to get love infusions, but we do need to regularly attend a faith community and to get involved in loving G-d and our neighbors (read: all other humans) as ourselves. We will then find that we live out of abundance and not scarcity.

So, find a way to get your love infusion today and everyday. It is one great way to improve your health, wellness and wholeness and to change the way you live in the world.

Peace,
Dan

Health, Wellness and Wholeness and the EIP

Today's post is a reflection based on re-reading the book "House of God" and on 25 years of working within the so called "Health Care System" (HCS). The HCS, on the whole (as pointed out by many) is not about health, nor care, nor is it very systematic in anything but capturing charges for reimbursement. A few years ago, I did a purchasing analysis for a 35 hospital system. Hospital size ranged from 50-beds to more than 1000; from rural to inner city; from community-focused to large tertiary, university-affiliated monoliths. What I discovered (what I had assumed to be true) is that there was no coordination in purchasing or use of medications. Using this as a surrogate marker for system health, I saw a 35 hospital organization that ran as 35 separate and distinct entities. I have come to term this part of our "system" the "Episodic Intervention Portal" or EIP. To my knowledge, this is a term I have coined - we'll see if it gets any legs. ;-)

The EIP is accessed by well meaning persons in search of answers to health needs/questions. These well meaning persons (WMP's) get to see a practitioner for approximately 7 minutes, usually no more than twice yearly. Thus, all of their care is episodic, and in large practices where they may see multiple practitioners depending on scheduling, disconnected and uncoordinated. Layering into this the vagaries of what insurance will pay for/allow, one is reduced to a series of interventions per episode, without the benefit of a longitudinal view of the WMP's health trajectory. Health, wellness and wholeness (HW2) are beautiful casualties of this type of approach.

Nowadays, we have empowered patients who are trying to change the landscape of the EIP. Information is much more accessible, though not anymore understandable to the average WMP. Direct-to-Consumer advertising creates a desire to have a certain medication/procedure/conversation without the requisite knowledge of pharmacology or physiology. Law firms suggest that anytime you are injured by a chemical or practitioner that you have the right, nay the obligation, to sue to recoup money for you and the lawyers. But no matter how empowered the WMP's become, they are still stuck with the EIP - and the EIP is not changing. Yes, there is rhetoric about "Medical Homes" and "Accountable Care Organizations", etc, but current legislation and payment models will keep us in the status quo, irrespective of the outcomes of the mid-term elections (my bias and opinion).

So, what is the effect on our HW2 and is there anything that we can do within the current EIP? The answer is that our HW2 is dependant upon us to find ways to empower, enable, ehance and engage ourselves and others in its pursuit. This is what Possibilities Journey Inc (www.possjrny.org) is doing. With our "big picture" view and ability to facilitate relationships, we are helping to improve the WMP interaction with the EIP. Better interactions along with some much needed reforms (tort, structure, perspective) of the EIP will lead to a more just and useful entity in which we can pursue HW2. This is our vision, and we are doing our little part to bring it to fruition.

Come join us in our journey to change the EIP into something that works for everyone.

Peace,
Dan

Dialogue vs. Directive

Today's post is a reflection on this week's initiative to speak from "abundance" language rather than "scarcity" language. It also stems from more than 25 years in the health care field being one who, on many occasions in the past, has been quite paternalistic in my apporach to others in their health, wellness and wholeness needs.

Quite often in healthcare we as practitioners "know" what is best for others and are not afraid to share. ;-) This has brought about the patient empowerment movement in response to "our" not listening nor trying to be in relationship. In other words, we have been directive - telling people what to do rather than engaging them in dialogue. Healthcare professionals because of our training, and also the time pressures placed upon us (and honestly, the lack of reimbursement for "dialogue") will cut to the chase and try as efficiently as possible to diagnose and prescribe what we feel will solve the problem at hand. Is it any wonder that 50% of the prescriptions written in the U.S. each year go unfilled?

In order for us all to be healthier, more well and whole, we need to have the opportunity and reform to be albe to once more enter into relationship. When I have a supporter in my corner, someone who holds me accountable for the things that I'm trying to accomplish, I'm much more likely to make progress towards my goal(s). I'm quite sure that this is true of you as well. This is what Possibilities Journey, Inc, is all about (www.possjrny.org). We are trying to engage people in a dialogue about their needs for health, wellness and wholeness.

Help us in this initiative. Tell us what you most need from your health care system (or as I refer to it, The Episodic Intervention Portal [EIP]) and the folks who work within it. Ask your governmental leaders to continue to move forward with more than health insurance reform.

We look forward to hearing from you!
Peace,
Dan

Making time for silence

Holidays are good days to have silence. At least they were prior to my having children. ;-) Even though mine are now firmly into their teens, there's still not a lot of silence. My children believe it's a form of capital punichment to deprive them of their beloved "I" devices - even to go out into the wilds and poke around.

Ah well, I know it was a simialr event with me, car radio cranked up, 8-tracks in and bass turned all the way up. However, we didn't have all the options with cell phones and I-devices and internet. We were able to get away and be in silence - we didn't have any options.

It wasn't until a few years ago that silence took on a deeper meaning - one that was healing as well as quiet. My introduction to contemplation and contemplative prayer forms revolutionized my interior time. Prayer before that time had always been about noise and finding the right words to say. Now it became all aobut silence and listening for the "still small voice". It brought me back to a knowledge of my interior self, and the power that lies resident in each of us.

So, I hope that you find time for silence. Try the book "Soul Feast" by Marjorie Thompson or "Celebration of Discipline" by Foster for more help. Healing can come from small moments of silence. You don't have to take a retreat (though this helps) for a week, 5 to 10 minutes each day will do. Try an examen prayer (a review of your day) as you settle in to sleep. Say thanks for the good things that happened, and offer heartfelt apologies for those things that didn't go well. I find that I sleep much better having done this.

Peace and silence,
Dan

Magnanimus

Today's post comes from some discernment of a chapter in Dean Brackley's book, "The Call To Discernment in Troubled Times". It is a book on the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises that takes the reader through these very useful spiritual disciplines. The chapter that this is drawn from is called, "Expanding the Soul". He has been leading the reader through the process of self-emptying in order to be in better and closer communication with G-d.

The word magnanimus (literally: great spirit) comes up in the chapter as a response to the great challenges of our time. Instead of the "shrinking violet" or "meek" approach, Brackley suggest that the idea of magnanimity be re-captured. Being great in spirit should not imply that one is overly prideful, rather, the greatness of spirit allows one to be humble, but to act decisively to combat injustice. To quote from the book page 109, "The great challenges of our time - poverty, the environment, war - should inspire humility, but also creativity and bold action. They cry out for large-minded generosity - that is, the magnanimity that springs from wholesome self-esteem. Without humility, we elbow others aside. But without magnanimity, we bury our talent in a napkin."

There is not a lot of this characteristic alive in the world today. Our world (primarily the "developed" part) is individualistically focused and out to get as much as possible for as long as possible - to "elbow others aside". They oppress and humiliate others in order to make themselves appear more powerful and successful. This happens in the Church as well as the surrounding world. In my own congregation, we make ourselves feel better once each month as we hand out USDA food (poor nutritional quality) and a hot meal, after making our brothers and sisters wait outside in a line that stretches around the building. Magnanimous - I think that we have a ways to go!

Our path to health, wellness and wholeness are all wrapped up in our ability (or inability) to become greater in spirit. To see ouselves and others as the flawed humans that we are. To not sell ourselves short, and to not over-inflate ourselves. The path is not a path we can walk alone, because it is very difficult to see ourselves as we really are. Find yourselves some caring and honest friends and begin to study works like Mr. Brackley's. It will be your doorway to improved health, wellness and wholeness.

Peace,
Dan

What do you see?

I'm a day late on this posting due to being out of the office yesterday, sorry. My reflection today is on vision - specifically, what we see inside as well as outside. Now, this is not a vision test as administered in an opthalmologist's office, but rather a test of how much we perceive of what is going on in the world around us.

Spiritual teachers over millenia have commented on our ability to deceive ourselves - to see what is not really there. The path to spiritual health, wellness and wholeness (HW2) therefore, is to have our vision become real and true. That is, to have our vision clarified by focusing on things other than our own self centered world view. For many years (more than 25 now) I have been near sighted to the extent that I've required glasses to see things at a distance. I become a certain age and have had to move to "progressives" which allow me to see both near and far. Though corrective lenses have allowed me to view things at a distance, I find that often my "inner eye" has not been corrected enough to do the same.

How is it with your inner eye? How do you view the things that are going on in your inner self? How is it that you perceive the world around you - and how does your vision help you to interpret what you see?

It may be time for corrective lenses for your inner eye. There are many resources for this. One of the most helpful for me is to unplug from the noise of the world and to reconnect with the Other outside of me that has the ability to show me the truth. I wish the same clarity for each of you.

May your vision clear and your HW2 improve!

Peace,
Dan

Community Solidarity = Improved HW2

Today's post is my rumination on an article written by John McKnight, one of the co-founders of the "Abundant Community" mmovement. (See: www.abundantcommunity.com/home/getting_started/community_capacities_and_community_necessities.html)

In Mr. McKnight's "call to action" are the seeds to improve our communal and thus our individual health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). He has seven points for the movement towards abundant community which include: Neighborhoods as the primary source of health; determining the safety and security of our neighborhoods; environmental care; building resilient local economies; production of our food; locally raising our children; caring for all in our communities.

In my opinion, the keystone is the first point - recognizing that "our neighborhoods are the primary source of our health". The article quotes a statistic that medical care acocunts for "less than 10% of what will allow us to be healthy". That's an amazing statistic, but there is agreement on this point. Thus, investments in increasing the size and scope of hospitals, medical homes, etc will not significantly change the health of communities nor individuals. Investment in community health initiatives, however, have the potential to significantly improve not only our health, but our wellness and wholeness.

This is what the public charity, Possibilities Journey, Inc, is all about. We are in the business of leveraging the local resources in communities (e.g., faith communities, non-profits, government) to do more than any could do alone. I encourage you to go to our website to see what we're all about (www.possjrny.org).

I leave you with this thought...what could you do by next Tuesday to take on one of the seven items listed above to begin to create abundant community where you live? I'd love to hear what you decide to do.

Peace and wholeness,
Dan

The Power of Compassion

Today's post comes as a result of a conversation I had yesterday. I reconnected with a man that I've had a "love-hate" relationship with over many years. He's a man that I've found very challenging to deal with from the standpoint of his worldview, and how he used that to treat other people poorly (in my humble opinion). Our relationship has healed, because he has significantly softened (and is under less stress, both mental and physiologic) and my wife no longer works for him! ;-)

This man and I reconnected after a number of years and as we were catching up on each other's lives, our conversation lead into a description of what I'm doing running a public charity called, "Possibilities Journey, Inc." I told him of our mission to return wholeness to health and wellness, and how important compassion was to that process. He picked right up on the need for compassion and related the following personal story.

He has suffered from chronic health issues for most of his adult life. Recently he had an experience where he had to have multiple surgeries, which resulted in him (at the mid-point of the process) being significantly disabled. He was quite angry and withdrawn and no one (including his wife of many years) could get him to open up. He was visited often during this time by spiritual persons, in fact, he had Eucharist a few times each week - but no one recognized his spiritual pain. Until one day, a Physical Therapy assistant was able to show him compassion and to allow him the space to "let it all out". His ability to off-load his anger and frustration, his fears and concerns, began the process of his healing. It empowered him to take control back and to get his surgeon in line - to move past the error that had been made and to forgive him. That forgiveness of the physician allowed for that professional to move forward and correct the error, allowing my friend to walk again.

The power of compassion and compassionate acts. Compassion literally means "to suffer with" and is a gift that is seldom given in our world today. The folks at the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWish) are trying to adequately define compassion so that they can measure it and then identify how to assess for its presence or absence. My friend can tell them about how it felt for compassion to be absent from the people he looked to for it. It took another human, far down the medical heirarchy, to empower him to heal. A message for all of us that no one is incapable of sharing this gift.

My wish for you this day is that you might be able to share (or recieve) the gift of compassion. May you find your vision cleared so that you might see the suffering around you and give freely of this great gift.

Peace and compasion,
Dan

The Lack of Unity

Today's post comes from a reflection on unity (or lack thereof) in our world today. It seems as though we are all labeled with a descriptor or two pertaining to what we profess (e.g., liberal, conservative, red, blue). We then become encamped, if not in our own minds, with a group and find some level of belonging there. The unfortunate outcome of that describing act is that it limits us to those belief models espoused by the group we self-identify or is identified for us. Is this the path to health, wellness and wholeness?

Wholeness is almost be definition an absence of brokenness. How then do the labels that define our position in life work to increase or decrease our brokenness - as individuals, family units, neighborhoods, communities? To illustrate the question I offer the witness of my father-in-law. David grew up in the Northeast in a small town. He was born around the time of World War I and lived through the Great Depression. He came from Irish stock (a "Mick" as he labeled himself) and from a loving but tough home. David's world was defined by the situation he was born into and the circumstances of the labels that were ascribed to him. He labeled each and every person, by nationality primarily, and ascribed worth or lack of worth based upon that broad brush stroke. His world was walled off and had strict boundaries that couldn't be crossed (he couldn't date a Catholic girl). The boundaries hurt him psychologically and limited his world signficantly. He died with only a very few people who loved and cared about him.

I'd like to think that we've outgrown those kind of restrictions and artificial boundaries, but I know better. "Immigrant" is a perjorative as are race and ethnicity still. Though we are supposedly a "melting pot" and everyone has the freedome to pursue life, liberty and happiness, we have a great divide in our country. The divide is created by fear of the "other" and by the constant P.R. of groups who are warring against anyone who is not them. We have lost the meaning of "E Pluribus Unum" (translation: Out of Many, One) both in the public and private sectors.

Unity is necessary for us to become whole. As President Lincoln observed, "a house divided cannot stand" - so it is that our fractured society leads us to be in danger of collapse. This week, let us set ourselves to recover some unity - small steps are best. Start by working in your homes, then with your neighbors, then your communities, etc. Each step will increase our unity and offer us a shared vision of the future. With this, we will recover our path to wholeness.

Peace and unity,
Dan

Religion versus Wholeness

Today's post is a reflection of a movement within me to discern about some recent happenings within my own religious denomination (Methodism) and the effect that those happenings are having on my wholeness. Spiritually, we've just come through some important Jewish holy days (with more to come) and most importantly, through Yom Kippur - the day of atonement. I am especially in tune with the concept of atonement and its attendant forgiveness in my own life right now. Having a gracious G-d that forgives all my transgressions is a very healing notion.

In my own conference of Methodism, however, the Bishop has just called for a time of fasting each week until the end of the calendar year to help us listen for G-d and discern the future of the church. The view from some clergy that I talk with is that the Bishop's call is a reflection that 70% of Methodist churches have not taken in one new disciple in the last 3 years. Therefore, the fast is in response to the clergy not "doing their job to make new disciples".

I'm already concerned aobut he state of clergy health, wellness and wholeness, and this makes me more concerned. Not that clergy couldn't use a fast of 24 hours. There are data within my own Conference that our clergy are more overweight than age-matched controls. My concern is that the leading cleric is calling for a fast to try to turn the clergy around (to have them repent). While I'm sure that there are those who have lost the fire for evangelism and conversion, I'm also convinced, after meeting many, that they are doing the best that they can. Fasting and discerning is fine, but it won't change the basic problems that clergy face each day.

So, I'm trying to extend the fast to all of my congregation. To help us see the plight of our beloved clergy, to see our complicity in their un-health, to see our complicity in not creating new disciples, and to have a change of heart and mind (metanoia) that will create a church that is more HW2.

I'll let you know how it goes. May you be well in mind, body and spirit this and every day!

Dan

Mourning the Loss of Patient Persuasion

Today's post is a reflection on all the hype that we are daily bombarded with in this time in our individual and collective lives. Not a day goes by when some gaff of protocol/human decency isn't highlighted by the news media and promulgated by those who should know better. That's the problem, or so it seems to me, people don't know any better (seemingly). We have lost the art of patient persuasion as a mode of community building and accountability. We have forgotten from our founders that the "pen is mightier than the sword". I should add, that the pen, rightly employed, is mightier than the sword. Improperly used, the pen becomes the sword or inflammatory device.

There are so many examples from years past of persons willing to stand their ground for their beliefs, to suffer worldly contempt and sometimes physical harm, to patiently pursuade those in power of a differnet path, in order to promote a belief in a better world. In a world where self-promotion and arrogance have become the norm, there is little room left for those who don't seek the limelight. Little room for those who really believe that there should be "liberty and justice for all". Little room for those who's conscience won't let them rest while another human hasn't got the same freedom that they have.

What has driven us to this place? Is it the ease of electronic communication - a life excerpted in 160 characters of less? The ability to Tweet before you think? What happened to that motherly logic to count to 10 before responding? What has happened to our self-control and our ability to place others before ourselves? As a consequence, what has happened to our collective psyche and our HW2? We find ourselves in a very inconsiderate world, indeed.

It doesn't have to remain this way, however. We have the tools and the instructions to find a new and truly countercultural path into a different future. First of all,we need to find our way out of our consumerism and love of money. After that, we can begin again to put others before ourselves and the needs of a world before the needs of a single population. One percent of Americans own 40% of the wealth in the U.S. - only persistent persuasion on the benefits of divesting will change U.S. and lead us into a new and wholesome future.

For your consideration and reaction.

Peace,
Dan

Hearing vs. Listening and HW2

Today's post are my thoughts on the difference between "hearing" and "listening" and the effect that those two actions have on our HW2 (both personal and communal). The first article to check out is from Rodney Clapp in the 8/24 issue of the Christian Century (www.christiancentury.org) entitled "Hard of Listening". The second article is: http://e-patients.net/archives/2010/09/doctors-say-one-thing-patients-hear-another.html. Both articles reflect on the lack of listening that happens in our interactions.

After 25 years in healthcare, I know first hand about the disconnect between what health care professionals say and what lay people/patients hear. It's fascinating that we have two different words that are often used interchangeably. What is the difference between them? From "Dictionary.com", the difference between the two appears to be action - that is, it takes effort to "listen", where "hear" is a passive process. In fact, we have a redundant term "active listening" to describe an act of feedback to one who is talking. When we say that someone didn't hear me, I guess what we really mean to say is that they weren't listening (something that happens frequently in my house right now with my teenagers).

So, not listening is often a product of a lack of attention to the speaker. This, in my opinion, is most often a product of being distracted. Whether it is due to noise (internal or external or both) or other distractions (e.g., receiving a life-limiting diagnosis) we are not able to listen, thus we don't retain the information presented. Also, the manner and format that the information is presented makes a difference. Checking for understanding and follow-up are therefore important to moving forward. In a seven minute doctor visit, is it any wonder that there are so many poor interactions?

HW2 (health, wellness and wholeness) requires that we do our best to effectively communicate with one another. If something is not clear, or if we realize that we've not heard everything, then it is incumbent upon us as "listeners" to stop the conversation and ask clarifying questions. Likewise, if we are trying to communicate with others, we need to check every so often for understanding. There are significant differences between hearing and listening.

Listening, learning and transforming are the steps to better HW2. Possibilities Journey, Inc., (www.possjrny.org) is there to help this process.

Peace,
Dan

Planting Seeds...

Today's post is a reflection on Parker Palmer's book, "Let Your Life Speak". It is a wonderful book that follows Mr. Palmer's journey to discover his vocation. In Chapter 6 he states, “...In my own experience of autumn, I am rarely aware that seeds are being planted”.... I was struck once again by the truth behind those words. Fall is not only about harvesting, but about sowing seeds which will sleep during winter and then burst into growth in the spring.

In this time of beginnings (school, fall programs, church activities, etc) it is hard sometimes to focus on the fact that seeds are being planted. Often, we are unaware what seeds are being sown, and more often than not, we don't see the fruition of these seeds. In many cases, in my experience, I often forget the seeds in the years it takes for them to sprout. Equally, though I may plant seeds, others may actually recognize the growth and nuture the young seedlings to maturity.

What seeds are being planted in your life? As you look at your life, your search for meaning, your vocation or lack thereof, what strikes you? Additionally, what seeds are germinating in you right now? Things that might have lain fallow for many years that are now attempting to grow? Who will help you nuture those fragile ideas or initatives?

I'm in the first year of running a new enterprise, a public charity. It is a brave new world for me, filled with opportunities and land mines, with joys and sorrows, with peace and frustration. I'm finding consolation in the process however, and "know" that this is my vocation for now - it feels right. The seeds of this initiative were slowly germinating over a span of 10 years while I tried in many ways to ignore them. ;-) Finally I listened to that voice (the Latin root for voice and vocation are related) and followed the call.

May the seeds germinating in your life bear fruit! May you also plant seeds in others that will grow into health, wellness and wholeness.

Peace,
Dan

"To Sleep, Perchance to Dream..."

Today's post is not brought to you by William Shakespeare, but rather from a news piece in the NY Times (http://wellness.blogs.time.com/2010/09/02/ lack-of-sleep-can-cause-depression-weight-gain-and-even-death/#more-6990). I'm struck by this as I find myself again on the cusp of a new school year trying to get high school aged children to get enough rest (not to mention a type-A wife). We are coming off 10 weeks of sleeping late and basically goofing off - but that all ends tomorrow.

Lack of sleep is pervasive in our culture. A recent survey in Virginia of active clergy noted that an overwhelming proportion of them reported getting inadequate amounts of sleep each week. Add to this that 85% of them took one day or less off each week, and you have a set-up for burnout. An interesting piece from the article was the link, especially in teens, to psychologic disorders and weight gain from inadequate rest. Both disorders are rampant right now in teens, and one wonders if part of the answer is just helping our kids identify and stick to reasonable behavior boundaries and preventative strategies such as getting at least 8.5 hours of sleep nightly.

Deep, restful and restorative sleep has many positive health benefits. Mental acuity is enhanced, and job performance is optimized. Not only that, you feel better as well! So, why don't we find our way to bed in time (for adults) to get the 7.5 hours of sleep that is recommended and encouraged? Is there a spiritual component to this need to work endlessly? I think the answer is "yes". The culture that surrounds us puts a premium on individualism and self-interest. We're told that if we work harder, anything is possible. What happens is we not only work harder, but we work longer and take less time to relax and recharge. A current cable add for "5 Hour Energy" encourages you to drink this potion and push through "siesta time"; to ignore your body's request for rest.

Our bodies need exercise and relaxation; there is a natural rhythm to the world that we ignore at our peril. Even the hyper-exercise mavens know that you can't push muscles constantly, you must have times of rest so that overworked muscles can heal. So it is with the rest of the body. We are created to have rest each day. Without adequate rest, our bodies get more and more out of synch, and they break down faster. This is the reason for Sabbath - that day of rest each week for us to get out of the rat race and re-evaluate what we are doing.

So, what about you? In this new season of homework and activities, will you resolve to get enough sleep? If you don't the consequences might be dire. Listen to your body and set aside enough time for rest. If you're having trouble sleeping, get help. Above all, model appropriate behavior for those around you, especially children.

Peace and grace,
Dan

Simplicity...

Today's post is a reflection on becoming more simple. This is not a matter of me just aging and losing my mental faculties (though my teenaged children would tell you that I'm truly "simple") - rather it is a reality check for me in my continued search for wholeness. There are many euphemisms for simplicity nowadays: living off the grid, downsizing, right sizing, etc., but it is all essentially the same process of emptying the clutter.

The mistake that most people, including myself, make when trying to become more simple in their manner of living is that they get rid of things. While this unclutters some of their life, it really doesn't change anything. All the great spiritual teachers spoke of removing distractions that are barriers to a relationship with God. This simplification, or self-emptying, is more than divesting oneself of a few trinkets. It is the ongoing process of conciously identifying those behaviors, practices, work-life issues, mannerisms, beliefs, etc., that keep one from focusing on the spiritual life, and then repenting and removing those impediments. This is truly difficult not only in this day and age, but in all the ages past.

The struggle to become truly present to the moment and to live in concert with the world around one, is the goal of every major religion. Countless programs will be given this year focused on becoming more free to love, more free to give, more free to live in a way that honors the world around us and the Creator of it all. Like fad diets, however, the bloom fades quickly and the world once again takes over. Our anxiety over our impending deaths and not having enough "stuff" when we need it, wins out over our trust in the Other to provide all we need. We have been so long depending on ourselves both individually and corporately, that we have forgotten how to depend on a higher power.

So, I recommit myself to the pursuit of simplicity. I recommit myself to a prayer life that nourishes me and to a faith community that uplifts me, even as it struggles to figure out who it is, who it wants to follow and who it wants to become. I'll hold the tension of "what is" and "what might be" and try to be faithful to my pursuit of health, wellness and wholeness. I wish you well on your journey. If Possibilities Journey, Inc., (www.possjrny.org) can help, let us know.

Peace,
Dan

Water and HW2

Today's post is brought to you by almost 3 weeks of vacation near the ocean. I grew up in Minnesota, and didn't see the ocean until I was 20 years old. Up until that time, there were only two bodies of water that I'd seen that I couldn't see across (Lake Superior and Mil Lacs Lake). I also didn't appreciate the sound of the waves on the ocean, powerful and constant. I remember sitting outside listening to them for a long time just marveling at the sound. It wasn't until much later in my life that I learned the power of the ocean water and my unwavering respect for it.

Five years ago we were here by the ocean as Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and then raced inland. The remnants passed by to the West (quite a way off) but still brought a huge amount of wind. My youngest son and I went down to the floating docks and marveled at how they jumped around in the waves. The storm retained power, even though it had long ago ceased to be a hurricane.

We are inextricably linked to water. Adult bodies are about 65% water, babies more like 80%. Water is a basic element that we need to survive, without water we will die within a short span of days. Maybe that is why I feel the best when I'm near the water? The ebb and flow of the tides, the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea, the fish and the birds, all fit into a seamless whole. My Labrador Retriever is also part of this whole, he is never happier than when he can get his daily swim - and exercise muscles that he otherwise doesn't get to use very often.

So, water can be healing and hurting - Yin and Yang. But I am moved to suggest that you try to incorporate water into your search for health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). Scientists tell us to drink more water each day; those in the social justice realm state that millions do not have ready access to safe drinking water; hurricanes build in the ocean. Balancing the good with the bad requires us to be present to what is. So for this week, try to incorporate water into your HW2. Have its sound present as you meditate, drink more of it for your physical health, listen to the waves for your mental health, work to obtain clean water for someone who doesn't have it for your wholeness.

Peace and grace,
Dan

Community as a driver for healthy behaviors

Today's post is a reflection on how individuality promotes dis-ease and unhealth. When we are only focused on our own needs to the exclusion of all others, we become more and more isolated. Isolation leads to an ever more inflated sense of self, and an ever more inflated sense of our own needs above everyone else. Thus, we find ourselves with designer health care where those with money can get anything they want, and those without money get what's left.

Creation of community, where members look out for the welfare of each other, create and maintain health. Members who ask each other how they are doing on both physical and spiritual matters, hold each other accountable and improve each others well-being. Without this community and accountability, persons get more and more isolated, and more ego-centric. Thus, the whole fabric of relationships unravel.

If you are finding yourself in a space where you are feeling lonely and isolated, look to a faith community. Find one that is welcoming and feels right, and see what happens. I posit that your health and well-being will improve remarkably and will be maintained.

Peace and health,
Dan

Full-filled

Today's post is a reflection on a scripture from Jeremiah 18 in which God shows the prophet how God is like a potter. I'm giving a sermon on this text in a few weeks, and am discerning what path to take. It struck me as I was sitting with it that on reason that potters made new containers was that the old ones were filled and unusable.

That metaphor, being filled and unable to receive anything more, is a powerful one as I reflect on our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). The secular world constantly tries to fill us with desires for more things, for newer technology, for ever more opulent trinkets and homes. All of these wordly things give us fleeting happiness, but leave in their wake the longing for the next newest thing. The god of out-of-control consumerism requires our sacrifice of time and money in order to be satisfied for a time. However, as with all idols, the sacrifice demanded continues to grow until it becomes all consuming.

The Abrahamic faiths all believe that we were created by a loving God who seeks to have a relationship with us. In Genesis, we are told that God took the earth and formed it into man and woman and breathed into them the breath of life. This is not different from the potter who takes clay and shapes a useful vessel - not withstanding the potential for it to be a work of art as well. Empty containers long to be filled, to be put to use; so it is with us. We begin our lives as empty vessels, and over the years, we fill ourselves with ideas and opinions. We can also choose to empty ourselves of worldly ideas and search for the "Other".

This search for God has consumed many mystics over the millenia, some have written about their journeys (Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Merton, Brother Lawrence, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Gerald May, Henri Nouwen, etc) towards self-emptying, and have shown us that we are never empty, but the space that we create is filled by the Other. When we are filled with the Other, we are filled with selfless love. This love makes us whole again.

So, consider what has filled you up. Is it pursuit of worldly things that provide momentary distraction and pleasure, or is it the pursuit of the Other which conveys peace and wholeness? As the summer season comes to a close, consider spending the fall in pursuit of emptiness and wholeness.

Peace,
Dan

Competition vs. HW2

Today's post is a reflection on our competitive society and its impact (mostly negative) on our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). Proponents of competition suggest that it creates stronger groups - everyone gets better because they are trying harder to "win". However, as we witness in professional sports, the "haves" consistently do better than the "have-nots". Thus, competition can work in HW2, but only if there is a truly level playing field where everyone has the resources and community support that they need to succeed.

Competition gets destructive when it becomes divisive. That is, when the win-lose mentality becomes the only driving force, and the goal of the competition becomes secondary or forgotten all together. Then there is no community, there is only win-lose, and even those who have competed admirably feel defeated and morose when they finish less than first. How does this apply to our HW2?

Health insurance reform will soon bring tens of millions of persons into the healthcare system who have been exisiting on the fringes. They will be competing with well established persons for limited amounts of health care practitioners and services. Who will win in this competitive environment? Will these newly incentivized persons be able to find healthcare? Will they be able to pursue HW2 to the extent that those of us who are better positioned (and better funded)? What is our role in the social injustice that will surely accompany this influx of persons?

Health insurance reform has not fundamentally changed the problems in us as a society. We still have the win-lose mentality, and as long as "me and mine" are cared for to the full extent of my ability, then the rest of the country can take a hike. Until we see in the "other" the humanity and brother or sisterhood of a person who is every bit as necessary to our HW2 as our own families, then we will continue to struggle with the societal issues that have plagued every developed nation.

There can be no competition in our pursuit of HW2. Each of us must work to help every person we can become actualized and empowered to realize their own HW2. In this way, we all will find wholeness.

Peace,
Dan

Suffering and HW2

Today's post is a reflection on suffering and is based upon the seminal paper from 1982 in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Eric Cassell entitled, "The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine". In this paper, Dr. Cassell for the first time, expounded on the chasm between the perception of patients that relief of suffering was the primary role of medical care; and the perception of physicians that their primary role was to cure disease.

Having worked in health care for 25 years, much of it in intensive care units, I can state categorically that our role was to cure as much as we could, even to the point of inducing more treatment burden and suffering on the patient and the family. Now, to be fair, we didn't enter the fray with that outcome in mind, but in our single minded pursuit of cure, it was often the case that much more suffering occurred. We rarely considered the suffering of the support system for the patient, as they endured the trials and tribulations of our "we can try this next" approach to cure.

Dr. Cassell notes that "people suffer from what they have lost of themselves" such as roles and responsibilities, job duties, lack of interaction with others, creativity, regular behaviors, etc. Often, our health care system continues to remove these items of personhood, until all that is left is the shell of the individual and the technology that is keeping the organism functioning. Suffering in this context is severe and is directly related to the role of medical therapies (not care) that remove personhood.

Relief of suffering, in contradistinction, would still seek cures as assertively as we currently do, however, it would not be the primary goal of therapy. The primary goal would be to keep the person intact - that is, to spend enough time with the person to know what gives meaning to their life, and to endeavor to not take that away. This is why, in my work with folks on Advanced Directives, that I ask them to write one or two paragraphs that are appended to the end of the document that describe what life is to them, and what makes living worthwhile. The vast majority of the time, it is not to fight for every last breath no matter what the cost; rather it is quality of interaction that is at a tolerable pain level. Quality of time versus quantity of time, and the ability to continue to be people, not diagnoses or symptomatolgies, but human beings searching for meaning in the face of life-limiting illnesses.

I encourage all of you to write your one or two paragraphs about what living means to you. Make sure that family, friends and health care providers all know these things and are willing to abide by your wishes. In this way, you can aleviate some of the suffering induced by the "cure at all costs" model of medical care.

Peace,
Dan

If I Have Not Love...

Today's post is a reflection on the announcement from the Ventner Institute that they had artificially synthesized the DNA of a cell and implanted that into an existing bacterium. The new entity divided into cells resembling the synthetic entity. This is astounding and ground breaking science, and carries with it the troubling and dangerous, as well as great potential. So why am I more troubled than excited?

Almost immediately, my mind went to the writing of the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth - a church that was having significant difficulty with the basics of being a community. In the 13th chapter, the writer launches into one of the best known, and oft quoted, set of verses on the meaning of love. The second verse says, "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (NRSV translation)

Here again, we are potentially on the cusp of a great discovery. Man has once again pushed back the veil on our unknowing and taken a step closer to understanding the basic building blocks of life. My disquiet comes from my perception that this is done in the name of Science, not in the name of humanity. To put it another way, where is the love behind the initiative?

So often today, I encounter people who are incredibly intelligent and successful people - they have figured out how to get ahead in the world. They come to see me, however, because they are missing something. They have all the material wealth (seemingly) that they need, but they are searching for that missing piece. They are trying to understand how they fit into the bigger picture - how to fully engage in life. They are missing love. The love that allows them to empty themselves of themselves and to truly engage in self-less acts which improve the world.

The future will show us whether or not this newest scientific discovery offers humanity the gateway into a new realm of health and wellness, or delivers us into an even worse place where we are even less whole than we are now. The key piece is whether at the center of the discovery there is love - real, honest and self-less love. This is what we at Possibilities Journey, Inc., are attempting to help people find in their lives. Only this type of love will lead to wholeness.

Peace and grace,
Dan

Grace and it's Role in Shalom

It's been 10 days since I've posted - I've been on a house rehabilitation mission trip with 35 High School aged persons and about 20 adults. High energy, lower than usual amounts of sleep, many moments of grace were experienced. In fact, as I type this missive this morning, I'm aware that the mental batteries need a recharge. ;-) The week reinforced for me the role of building supportive community for all persons, and how even a small amount of interaction can create phenomenal well-being.

The area that we were working in is economically depressed. The mission team members all come from a highly affluent community where they don't readily encoounter this level of poverty. Though many of them were "mission veterans", this was the first trip that wasn't a Habitat for Humanity-based mission. Habitat trips have not included much interaction with the eventual home owners. In contradistinction, this trip included daily interaction with the folks living in the homes, and the team members all remarked on Friday evening that getting to know these people was a highlight of this trip versus the other trips.

Our theme for this trip was "God's Grace Multiplied". What I discovered during the week, and in my reflection since returning home, was that each individual's act of giving was multiplied by not only the others on the work site, but also by the persons in the home and by their neighbors/community. Each act of kindness reverberated in the group and remained on the worksite. For the Christians who read this, it was truly a "loaves and fishes" event where many were nourished by each little act - God's grace multiplied.

Shalom - God's gift of wholeness to us, is one form of the grace that God bestows. Restoring Shalom to the world will allow us to be healthier and more well, both as individuals and as communities. Acts of kindness and generosity to each other are multiplied many fold over the size of the act, and carry on far longer than the act itself. I began last Monday by visiting each of 5 worksites to offer a blessing. What I told the teams was that blessings are powerful and long lived - once given they can not be rescinded (think of Isaac and Jacob). One of the kids reflected that comment back to me at the end of the week. She said that the act of blessing the site made her feel more safe this year. I'm left to ponder what effect God could have if we blessed everything we did in our lives?

So take the time this week to bless what you do, or to be a blessing to others. Small acts of grace between persons and within communities can be revitalizing. Our health, wellness and wholeness can return as we develop our worldview of kindness and grace.

Peace be with each and everyone of you!
Dan