Out of Context...

Talking with my sister-in-law just now and made the statement, "It's really hard to know what's going on when you don't know the whole story." How true, and this is true also of our overall health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). Our lives often get taken out of context as we encounter the health care system (or as I like to call it, the "Episodic Intervention Portal"). Think about it, when's the last time you had a real heart-to-heart with a medical provider? Better yet, when's the last time you had a medical provider that knew you for more than a brief time of your life and understood how you see the world and make your decisions?

Context...understanding life and how we interpret it is a major factor in our HW2. We learn as we grow to filter information and contextualize it. It is how we make sense of the world around us - how we relate to the world and vice versa. Spirituality and religion offer alternative narratives to that of the secular world - and the secular world is contantly banging on our doors to be heard and understood. Context gives meaning to our lives and to the information that is presented to us everyday. Laboratory data when given to non-clinicians are just numbers - high or low or "normal". We need someone to interpret those numbers to tell us if we are doing well or about to be in trouble.

Context and HW2 - the truly difficult part of solving the dilemma of healthcare. When HW2 is seen only in the light of physiologic variables, then we are either overweight or underweight, "normal" or "abnormal", "ok" or "not ok". When our spiritual selves are discounted (because they are not easily defined or described - and don't fit into a 10 minute office visit) then it is not surprising that we don't trust the person who is speaking to us. Without trust and relationship, I have no reason to follow through with instructions, or to even pay attention to what is being said. I've already made up my mind that I will or won't actively participate in whatever is being proposed.

Healthcare reform will never be fully realized until we address the lack of meaning in our current delivery of "care". We at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org) believe that by re-integrating faith communities and their congregants into the public health system we can bring back relationships and meaning into health. We believe that wholeness can return and that context can be given. When that happens, we will truly be delivering and receiving care. This week, seek context for your HW2 - know that we're here to help.

Peace,
Dan