DELIBERATE — Monday Motivational Meditation #396 — 2019-03-11

Writing in a journal reminds you of our goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself.

Robin S. Sharma, 1964-

Canadian writer of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series. Sharma worked as a litigation lawyer until age 25, when he self-published MegaLiving, a book on stress management and spirituality.

DELIBERATE

To be deliberate about offering help to those in need, I have to weigh all the options carefully and consider all the ramifications of the different ways of approaching an issue. Sometimes it takes a good morning walk in the fog. It’s essential to back up my decisions with research that shows I’m on the right path. And, then, I also want to give my experience and intuition a chance to weigh in. Once the process is finished, I want to be confident that I’ve done all I could to inform myself and then move ahead confidently.

One of the critical components of deliberate care, especially if my patient is stable, is not to proceed hurriedly. Instead, I want my deliberations to be steady, slow and even. I want to do the investigating with a deliberate step and give myself permission to sift through things without being anxious.

Having the confidence to know that the right answer will surface in making decisions for my patients takes some work with myself. I have to sift my intentions, review the science, and know myself. Because I am a healer, I must first heal myself if I want to be deliberate in my caring for others.

Wisdom of the Ages, enhance my ability to be steady in my deliberations. Starting from within, give me the confidence to weigh all things and allow all sides to have a voice. Confident that what is right, helpful and true will surface, instill in me the courage to enter the journey toward healing and wholeness for all those I love and serve. AMEN.

ACTION: Consider how deliberate you are caring for others. If you’re on auto-pilot is it time to shake it up? Who can help you? What resources can you turn to bring new life and energies to your healing work?

Janet Antonacci is native to Westchester, New York, where as a child her morning rides to school included views of the river she now calls her artistic muse. She made her career in advertising, and wrote and shot commercials all over the world. In a sense, leaving her job to raise two sons only marked the rebirth of her creative endeavors. She has continued to write-her work has been published by The New York Times and others-and study her original craft over the years. She presently resides in Ossining, a stone’s throw from the Hudson. It’s the river and the towns that surround it, the bleeding sunsets and the faces of the fisherman who cast into them, that speak most clearly to Janet as she continues to find new ways to do what she’s done all her life: uncover meaning and create art.

See more of her work: @janriverworksphotography.

Thanks, Janet, for sharing your beautiful photos in this series we are calling, “Thoughtfulness.”

Nursing Heart Friends,

From the moment that the Florida Atlantic University BSN students landed in Guatemala you could feel their amazing energy that seemed to increase as the week went on. It was such a fun and busy group to be a part of.

When we do Undergraduate nursing trips we focus on health education and health promotion practices. This week included two Primary School Wellness checks in the communities of El Hato and El Platanar. Here the nurses educated the students on dental hygiene and teeth brushing, gifting each student their own toothbrush set, as well as fluoride application and a general health assessment including height and weight. Altogether we performed 375 child wellness checks. We were even invited to contribute in a school activity by celebrating ‘carnival’ depicted by smashing painted, confetti filled, eggs onto each other’s heads. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to end our clinic.

Guatemala has a 50% rate of malnourishment in children. Our focus is to do yearly assessments on these children, whilst keeping a student record at the school for parent and teacher access. Nursing Heart always provides a Guatemalan Doctor at each wellness clinic so the students can be referred and further assessed if anything is identified. The nurses who come to serve in Guatemala pay a fee to cover some of their on-ground costs, however this does not cover all of the clinic expenses. We rely on our wonderful cohort of donors who support Nursing Heart’s Mission to provide medical care, free of charge, to the poor and underserved communities in Guatemala. By donating $5-$10 a month, you could make a big impact in the lives of those who have very little.

Thank you for supporting us and Guatemala xx
Jade
Executive Director-Designate

“It’s not about being perfect.
It’s about being deliberate.
And when deliberate happens every day that’s when
nursing happens.
That’s how healing occurs.”

Suzanne Pinos MSN, RN