Topic: Kindness Date: 1-6-2006 Page: 3 After my graduation from Social Work School, I went to work for Indiana Universtiy Medical Center on their adult medical unit. I had been around illness and death all my life, but not the depth of work that comes with inpatient medical treatment. As a new human service worker, with some knowledge, minimal experience, and allot of bluff, I began to work with people and delivery systems. In the back of my mind, was always the question, "how do people change"? Or, more specifically, "how can I help people change"? And on a couple of occassions, I worked with individuals who had a terminal illness. At first I did not know what I could offer. The easiest thing for me to do was to learn the "system" well, and help individuals and families navigate through the confusing layers of a medical training school and a major hospital. What I saw then, is similar to what I have seen in many other locations and systems. There are individuals who are kind and there are individuals who are indufferent, and there is the occassional person who is down right hurtful. What I observed was that the individual practicioners who were kind, blunt but kind, or honest and kind were the one's who helped people change or cope or accept the disheartening but inevitable. I am not sure that I fully had the words, and definitely not the full comprehension, of what the attitude of kindness really encompassed, but I know that the concept and the root attitude was within me in those early days. And, I guess, I now believe that kindness is within our core nature, although individuals can be very selective or arbitrary about when they demonstrate kindness. For now, let's use the following discription of kindness, which for me is similar if not the same as compassion: Kindness-Compassion: description – a deep awareness of the difficulties another is having coupled with the wish or motivation to help alleviate the difficulty. Other attitudes that are related to kindness-compassion are mercy, humane, and empathy. Earlier, I mentioned my childhood inspiration about the social problem solving and healing potentials of "understanding". The word empathy, meaning, the ability to identify with and understand another's situation, feelings, and motives. Comments, observations, feedback, questions: Email or leave voice mail at 608-346-3617, if I do not answer. Intuitive Consultations Session with Garth Bio
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