My girlfriend came home a bit disgruntled at lunchtime while I was studying. She is a counselor at a nonprofit, mental health center. I guess she sorted it out.Here is her email to me and a couple friends:
Today was my adventure on the ACT team. (ACT is designed for our toughest,most challenging clients.) Adventure Wednesdays is what I should call it. I had an initially challenging day. I talked to the ACT team supervisor at the end of it. I had told her I was struggling with giving a shit, how much money is wasted on people, that we are crippling clients and making them dependent. I was on my own high horse of what I thought would be better. She smiled and remarked that I must have needed my meditation time today (an APS group was in the room during the normal meditation wed. hour group I lead). As my supervisor left the office just now she handed me a book by the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron, a book she said she read when she was feeling a bit fried. And so I opened the book and this is what came to me from the page and I wanted to pass on the cleansing power:
Today was my adventure on the ACT team. (ACT is designed for our toughest,most challenging clients.) Adventure Wednesdays is what I should call it. I had an initially challenging day. I talked to the ACT team supervisor at the end of it. I had told her I was struggling with giving a shit, how much money is wasted on people, that we are crippling clients and making them dependent. I was on my own high horse of what I thought would be better. She smiled and remarked that I must have needed my meditation time today (an APS group was in the room during the normal meditation wed. hour group I lead). As my supervisor left the office just now she handed me a book by the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron, a book she said she read when she was feeling a bit fried. And so I opened the book and this is what came to me from the page and I wanted to pass on the cleansing power:
"Acknowledge what is without judging it as right or wrong. Let it go and come back to the present moment. Whatever comes up, see what is without calling right or wrong.
Acknowledge it. See it clearly without judgment and let it go. Come back to the present moment. From now until the moment of you death, you could do this. As a way of becoming more compassionate toward yourself and towards others, as a way of becoming less dogmatic, prejudiced, determined to have your own way, absolutely sure that you are right and the other person is wrong, as a way to develop a sense of humor about the whole thing, to lighten up, you could do this. You could also begin to notice when ever you find yourself blaming others or justifying yourself. If you spent the rest of your life just noticing that and letting it be a way to uncover the silliness of the human condition- the tragic yet comic drama that we all continually buy into- you could develop a lot of wisdom and a lot of kindness as well as a great sense of humor."
Cheers to all of you in my very own drama, thanks for letting me play a small part in yours.
I wish you and myself open hearts as we continue living this moment, this day, this life.
1 comment:
Wow, your ladyfriend rocks. Thanks to her for an excellent reminder that can serve us well in health care. There's so much blatant bullshit in medical care (see WSJ health blog! On second thought, don't do that) that it becomes too easy & cheap to focus on and get bogged down by it all.
(btw, I loved Chodron's book, "When Things Fall Apart," tho' I only read the first 50 pages before the library made me give it back)
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