Worldwide Stew

I am not so special

Guru (noun) 1: a personal religious teacher and spiritual guide in Hinduis 2a: a teacher and especially intellectual guide in matters of fundamental concern has been a guru to many young writers b: one who is an acknowledged leader or chief proponent became the guru of the movement c: a person with knowledge or expertise : expert a computer guru

This is a continuing riff on gurus and specialness. Today, I wanted to write about the personal specialness we sometimes attribute to ourselves.

Just Fly

Just Fly
by Mike Davis

Padding along the trail,
We ambled toward the car,
Dog’s nose pressed to ground,
Human noses pressed forward,
Next stop, the car.
My mind focused on that next thing.

Then, the screech of a red-tailed hawk,
My eyes peered around me.
Where does that clear,
Piercing, cry come from?
And there, off to the right
Riding the air currents
Along the length of the creekbed

Verbal Order Read Back

When a doctor or Advance Practice Provider (like a Physician Assitant or Nurse Practitioner)issues a verbal order, the person taking the order is usually supposed to read it back to confirm understanding. Clinicians often feel its unncessary: We’re in a hurry.We’ve got things to do.

Verbal order readback (VORB) is an invitation. It’s an invitation to reduce confusion or dispel doubts. With VORB, the person receiving the order and the person giving the order have the opportunity to dance. Do you understand what I want? Do I understand what you’re reporting? We get to do this before we step on each other’s toes. Or, more importantly, before we hurt the patient or family.

Stretch

Cassie, let’s go for a walk.

Cassie, our dog responds more slowly than usual. She usually gets to the door first. She’s feeling lazy this morning. Finally, at another beckon, she arises. But, as she does, she takes a long, deep stretch. Her body lengthens. She twists like her body is a towel being wrung out. Then, she releases a full-body shake.

Now, she was ready to go. Our walk could begin. Our day could officially begin.

When industry focuses on human inadequacies

This post originated with the creation of a blog post on New Year’s Resolutions. I’m trying to keep my blog area focused on inspiration. So, instead of posting this in that area, I’m adding it to my website’s opinion section.

Yesterday, on my blog, I suggested some reasons that resolution brain lets us down:

• It fixates on our failures, deficits, and weaknesses
• It promotes suffering by triggering loss of hope and depression when resolutions fail
• It highlights our sense of not enough: we don’t have enough, we aren’t enough, and incites the Hungry Ghost of wanting more.

Today, I want to highlight a few of the more insidious ways that resolution brain can betray us.