| Crisis = Danger
+ Opportunity |
By Marty Calliham, L.Ac.
Ever since the economy started to falter, it's
been hard for me to sit down and write something to you all.
How can I encourage preventative healthcare when our attention,
efforts, finances and future outlook are in survival mode? Maybe
some of you have lost a job, had your hours reduced or increased,
or may lose your house. What could I possibly say to you? Well,
what I recently realized (with a little help from my friends)
is that I can either despair, or I can offer hope and encouragement.
I can be a leader for good or for ill. Maybe you can, too. So
here's my message: We are all in this together. Let's create
community. Let's be there for each other. I don't know where
everything will end up. No one really does. In the future, things
may look even more different than they do now. Changes might
happen sooner than we think. But even though the world of mid-2008
was known and familiar, in many ways there was much about it
that needed fixing: injustice, conflict, and alienation for
starters. We still have a long ways to go. But I can choose
to see the opportunities within the crisis. It will be a different
world, and we can make it a much better one, if we courageously
reach out to each other and work together. By doing what? I
don't know. But we can talk about it. Let's get creative! If
you want to come to the clinic but don't think you can afford
it, talk to me. This clinic is about healing. It's meant to
be affordable. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, we may
all be readjusting how we pay for things. Maybe there's something
that you can offer to me that would benefit the clinic or me.
Do you grow organic vegetables, or have a skill or trade that
we all could benefit from? Is there something you would like
to do to promote medicine for the people? Let's talk. Maybe
you are simply too unwell to think about how to get the care
you need. Call me anyway. Everyone deserves the dignity of healthcare
when they need it! That's what Peaceful Village Acupuncture
is all about. Maybe after you're better, you can pay it back,
or pay it forward. We can figure this out. At the very least,
we can recognize each other as equals, with dignity. We are
in this thing called life together. Each of us needs others
to help us with things we cannot readily do for ourselves. And
that's okay. This clinic is about healing - of mind, body, soul,
and spirit - and now it's about community, too. As our new president
says, there is hope. This crisis, or any other, presents us
with an amazing opportunity to create a gentler, more peaceful
world. Let's begin right now.
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