We receive many magazines for the medical office waiting room, and, for whatever reason, many of them are delivered unsolicited. No complaints, really, because if we do not have to spend dollars on subscriptions to Good Housekeeping, Food Network Magazine, Scientific American or Motor Trend, then the subscription budget is significantly reduced and it provides a greater variety of reading material options for those patients (or caregivers) who are waiting to be seen.
One monthly magazine (if one could call it that) which receives much patient handling is Highlights, and for an adult primary care office this is quite interesting. Jeannine's grandparents kindly pay for her subscription to the magazine and she volunteers it to the waiting room when she is finished exploring it. Clearly the reason we have it here is for those patients who need to occupy a child while waiting for their appointment...or so I thought.
I will not infrequently scan the waiting room to get a feel for how long someone has been waiting or to see if a patient needs to update information we need for billing, government, insurance or communication purposes, and what I have found fascinating is that more often than not, patients who came without children are going through not People Magazine or Sports Illustrated, but Highlights. Now I generally tend to think that most of the magazines on the waiting room table are pretty much mindless drivel, and have made the entire waiting room chuckle as I dump the current issue of People on the table encouraging those sitting there not to fight over it just because they can't wait to find out how Brittany Spears is dealing with her latest romance collapse. Face it, these days most of us have stresses in our lives and the short articles in these publications about frivolous current trends and people can help take our minds from our troubles.....but Highlights????
Having given up on even cracking open the cover of this activity magazine because of an almost post traumatic stress associated with having been humiliated by my younger brothers (and I have five) growing up -- who somehow or other were able to find all the hidden pictures (no picture clues in those years, just words), answer all the riddles and unscramble all the word puzzles faster than I could, I wondered just what it was about Highlights that these adults found more fascinating than learning more about Kate Middleton's baby bump.
It is an amazingly simple answer: despite the sometimes rudimentary puzzles and simple stories, this activity magazine provides a mental, intellectual (if you will) challenge that is a refreshing diversion from the mental herpes one acquires from an overload of popular reading material. In this day and age of gadgets that can, with a push of a button, dial family and friends for phone calls, or add, subtract, multiply, divide -- even complete higher level math calculations a the push of some buttons, or give step by step directions to the nearest coffee shop without the use of a map, why use our brains to recall or remember information? Also, with an excessive focus on the "lives and loves of the 'beautiful people'" our brains are further boiled to mush. What is more pathetic is that somehow we, "the poor masses," are led to believe as we slog page after page through the mindlessness of popular publications that without the sort of lifestyle of the "rich and famous" we are utter failures.
But Highlights is our hope. In addition to the the puzzles and games, there are simple stories which focus on the positive outcomes that result from doing good and being kind. Who can read "The Timbertoes" or "Goofus and Gallant" without pulling for those do-gooders, and are then rewarded in the end as Gallant shines head and shoulders above his less mannerly brother?
Besides, completing these mental challenges give us a better "feel good" attitude of mind and sense of accomplishment that just does not come from reading about the new 45-cylander motor that goes from 0-400 in less than 60 seconds, and can be found under the hood of a car no one but Jay Leno or some member of Congress can afford. Honestly, which activity has the potential of leaving us more uplifted?
So for what it is worth, I appreciate the need for people to escape from the realities of their life situations -- especially when sitting in a medical office waiting to be seen or, sometimes waiting for a family member or friend who might be very ill. Really, is there a better way to feel good about our health, wellness and relationships (no matter how deplorable) than to know that the "beautiful people" -- the Kardashians, Prince Harry and Gwyneth Paltrow are "suffering" as well? I don't know, but I think that it is far healthier and immensely more enjoyable to engage our minds in some small, simple mental challenges, and, in spite of some PTSD tendencies on my part, I am glad that Jeannine volunteers this publication to our office -- and I am brave enough to display it.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
It's March Madness (not)
As I sit at the kitchen table, laptop at the ready to muse about this or that topic of interest perhaps interesting only to me, I am distracted by the stunning day God has given me. The weather is just barely warm enough for me to open the sliding door, encouraging the slight breeze to find its way into the house. Ahhh, fresh air!
The sights of spring are rampant. I am sorry for all those family and friends at points east of Portland as they recover from the bitter winter weather of the past few weeks, but I cannot help but be inspired as I feel the sun's warmth streaming through the kitchen windows, see the stunningly blue sky, our purple magnolia tree, azalea bushes, camellia trees and daffodils in bloom. Such a contrast to the desolation I saw in my yard just a few weeks ago.
The sounds of an awakening nature are once again heard in the yard: I can hear our neighbor's chickens cackling in the distance and a convention (although I think it is called a murder, but that would destroy the alliteration) of crows flying overhead making the usual harsh noises of their breed. My wind chimes are softly singing as the breeze moves them, and the hummers are back chasing each other away from the feeders; their wings sounding like small reverberating engines as they dive bomb each other in and around the deck.
When "January Hope Moved to February Action," the result for me is that I have actually accomplished some of those things on my goals list (like putting them in writing). When February closed out yesterday, I can say that I am no longer padding around my house clenching a cup of hot something-or-other, mindlessly thinking about all the things I could and should do. I really took action on various aspects of my life and I believe that I am making some progress toward being a better, braver person. The interesting thing for me is that I found some of these actions had overlapped, making it easier to accomplish more goals than I had expected.
In my capacity as a mother with a beautiful child with Down Syndrome, this past month together Jeannine and I have made strides in bringing better health to her through her continued understanding and embracing the habits of health. The overlap here is that her success inspired me to reach out to one of the local DS groups that we dropped years ago as "life intervened" and we could not manage to stay connected. A braver me attended a "Mom's Night" this last week and for once I did not sit in a corner by myself just watching and listening. I found myself talking with other moms, hearing their stories, and sharing my own, and this brought a connectedness I had not ever experienced. It is going to be wonderful to continue the relationship with this group.
In my latest "brilliant career" (I have had perhaps 10 in the course of my life some of which I still have), as a health coach, I am taking a more active role in helping others not only find and maintain great physical and mental health (less stress and anxiety), but I have made strides in helping them find ways to make their dreams of a full, vibrant life a reality -- all this by helping others help themselves and others to wellness.
February also ushered in (as it usually does) the season of Lent. For Christians, Catholics in particular, it is a time of personally acknowledging that Our Lord and Our God gave all of Himself for us out of a deep and unconditional love, as well as grasping opportunities for us to reflect and make small acts of love in gratitude and reparation for our lack of charity.
Fr. Robert Barron is posting reflections for this season through the Word on Fire website, and his reflection for Day 10 was powerful for me. The reflection was about "the law of the gift." Using the Old Testament incident of God's test of Abraham in the call to sacrifice his son Isaac, Fr. Barron illustrates that the more a person is willing to give himself away, the more he will increase. Abraham was willing to give all of himself and all he loved dearly because God, his Creator, asked. In the end, God rewarded the depth and quality of Abraham's love, and repaid this willingness to give by giving his son back, securing God's promise that Abraham's progeny would number more than the stars in the heavens.
Conversely, the law further states that the more a person "clings" to himself the more he decreases. This makes total sense to me, for how can a person hope to grow (increase) in love or happiness or faith, without first giving themselves the opportunity? And how can one grasp those opportunities if they hold on (cling) to those things they are given? Like the magnolia tree or other plants in my yard that died in the harshness of winter, nature now rewards them in the blossoming and new growth of spring. As a person, if I do not give of myself and use the blessings and gifts God has given to me, how am I to find the joy and fulfillment of life (be that spiritual or temporal) God wants for me?
So for what it is worth, whatever it is that God has given me I should be ready to give it back if He asks for it. Should He ask for it, I should let it go no matter how painful, knowing in faith that it is for some greater purpose. January hope has moved to February action....February action now encompasses March mindfulness as I continue my quest for bravery and being a better person. I know I will need lots of prayers.
The sights of spring are rampant. I am sorry for all those family and friends at points east of Portland as they recover from the bitter winter weather of the past few weeks, but I cannot help but be inspired as I feel the sun's warmth streaming through the kitchen windows, see the stunningly blue sky, our purple magnolia tree, azalea bushes, camellia trees and daffodils in bloom. Such a contrast to the desolation I saw in my yard just a few weeks ago.
The sounds of an awakening nature are once again heard in the yard: I can hear our neighbor's chickens cackling in the distance and a convention (although I think it is called a murder, but that would destroy the alliteration) of crows flying overhead making the usual harsh noises of their breed. My wind chimes are softly singing as the breeze moves them, and the hummers are back chasing each other away from the feeders; their wings sounding like small reverberating engines as they dive bomb each other in and around the deck.
When "January Hope Moved to February Action," the result for me is that I have actually accomplished some of those things on my goals list (like putting them in writing). When February closed out yesterday, I can say that I am no longer padding around my house clenching a cup of hot something-or-other, mindlessly thinking about all the things I could and should do. I really took action on various aspects of my life and I believe that I am making some progress toward being a better, braver person. The interesting thing for me is that I found some of these actions had overlapped, making it easier to accomplish more goals than I had expected.
In my capacity as a mother with a beautiful child with Down Syndrome, this past month together Jeannine and I have made strides in bringing better health to her through her continued understanding and embracing the habits of health. The overlap here is that her success inspired me to reach out to one of the local DS groups that we dropped years ago as "life intervened" and we could not manage to stay connected. A braver me attended a "Mom's Night" this last week and for once I did not sit in a corner by myself just watching and listening. I found myself talking with other moms, hearing their stories, and sharing my own, and this brought a connectedness I had not ever experienced. It is going to be wonderful to continue the relationship with this group.
In my latest "brilliant career" (I have had perhaps 10 in the course of my life some of which I still have), as a health coach, I am taking a more active role in helping others not only find and maintain great physical and mental health (less stress and anxiety), but I have made strides in helping them find ways to make their dreams of a full, vibrant life a reality -- all this by helping others help themselves and others to wellness.
February also ushered in (as it usually does) the season of Lent. For Christians, Catholics in particular, it is a time of personally acknowledging that Our Lord and Our God gave all of Himself for us out of a deep and unconditional love, as well as grasping opportunities for us to reflect and make small acts of love in gratitude and reparation for our lack of charity.
Fr. Robert Barron is posting reflections for this season through the Word on Fire website, and his reflection for Day 10 was powerful for me. The reflection was about "the law of the gift." Using the Old Testament incident of God's test of Abraham in the call to sacrifice his son Isaac, Fr. Barron illustrates that the more a person is willing to give himself away, the more he will increase. Abraham was willing to give all of himself and all he loved dearly because God, his Creator, asked. In the end, God rewarded the depth and quality of Abraham's love, and repaid this willingness to give by giving his son back, securing God's promise that Abraham's progeny would number more than the stars in the heavens.
Conversely, the law further states that the more a person "clings" to himself the more he decreases. This makes total sense to me, for how can a person hope to grow (increase) in love or happiness or faith, without first giving themselves the opportunity? And how can one grasp those opportunities if they hold on (cling) to those things they are given? Like the magnolia tree or other plants in my yard that died in the harshness of winter, nature now rewards them in the blossoming and new growth of spring. As a person, if I do not give of myself and use the blessings and gifts God has given to me, how am I to find the joy and fulfillment of life (be that spiritual or temporal) God wants for me?
So for what it is worth, whatever it is that God has given me I should be ready to give it back if He asks for it. Should He ask for it, I should let it go no matter how painful, knowing in faith that it is for some greater purpose. January hope has moved to February action....February action now encompasses March mindfulness as I continue my quest for bravery and being a better person. I know I will need lots of prayers.
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