If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.
Joseph Addison, 1672-1719
English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his longstanding friend, Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine.
CAUTION
To use caution is neither a conservative or liberal behavior. It is being careful. There are hazards in life, and I want to go about my work wary of things that can cause injury and hurt. It’s because I care for others as I care for myself.
I can proceed with caution without being fearful or obsessed by things that could happen. Finding that balance between risk and benefit requires wisdom on my part. All the experiences I have had can come into play, and those experiences warn me when I am entering a danger zone.
Learning from all the things that have happened in my life, I can become a beacon for others seeking first to do no harm. Understanding the threats to good outcomes grows as I gain experience caring for others. My intentions are in the right place, and I can offer the cautions to others and heed the warnings of others to keep all those I care for safe.
Divine Safety, be a shelter for my heart and guide me to know the risks that I must take in my life. Prudently heeding the cautions of others, instruct me through word and deed to make decisions that truly benefit those I care for. Give me wisdom in when I offer guidance. AMEN.
ACTION: Consider the steps you take in doing a risk/benefit analysis. Of all the voices that come into play, who in your history helped you the most to make the tough decisions? Are you able to reach out to them this week to offer thanks?
Dale and Rich with a new addition in their family, great-niece Berkeley!
About the Photographer
Dale Swartos is a Senior Speech and Language Pathologist at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore. Recently, Dale earned Certified Neonatal Therapist status. He and his husband, Rich, are busy with their extended family and working at their new home in Baltimore. Rich has just finished his tenure on the Board of Nursing Heart.
Dale writes, “I’ve noticed that a lot of photos I’ve taken lately are of doors, widows, stairs. I find myself curious about what is behind that door, where does that stair lead, who may be inside that window? It’s not unlike the questions Rich and I ask each other as we get older; ‘What’s around the next corner, what’s the next adventure?'”
It also seems an appropriate time for Nursing Heart to ask these questions especially in light of the transition we are entering. One step at a time is a good philosophy. We will see what’s waiting at the top of these “Steps” which is the name of this series as we start the New Year.
THIS WEEK’s PHOTO: Jaisalmer, India
The Nursing Heart/Asoc. Corazón de Enfermería team celebrating Sara’s birthday.
Nursing Heart Friends,
We always like to have fun here. It makes everything better! This week we celebrated Sara’s birthday, our anniversary as a 501(c)(3) (the same day), and Jade’s first Staff Meeting. It is great to have fun with the people you work with and share life together. It makes our work better.
This past weekend we welcomed our Friends of Nursing Heart group. These folks hail from Seattle, Nebraska and Maryland, and members of our Board are joining us from Minnesota and Ohio too! It’s a very special week for us here.
We are going to Chigonzales this Monday to Wednesday to join the members of the community there to build a clinic/comunitario with our partnersHombres y Mujeres en Acción. It’s a multi-purpose room that they will use for health and communal activities. We have raised $4,000 dollars and just need $1,000 to complete the campaign. Do you want to help us? You can, just clickHERE.
Our Board meeting includes a clinic atLaVoSi, the school for the deaf in Jocotenango. Each year for the past five years we have done an annual wellness check with LaVoSi, and this year the whole Board is invited.
The Board will conduct its meeting, with the theme of “Engaging Our Dreams.” We are in an exciting transition time with a very bright future built on all that has happened with your help. Here are the two videos from this month’s activities thus far.
