Shifting sands

Back in March, I presented at a professional conference and spoke on the many changes we are seeing in healthcare generally, and medical records/health information management (HIM) specifically.

In my professional sphere, like my spiritual circles, I’m the one at the party who dares to say the quiet part out loud. Like I’ve been saying about organized spiritual metaphysics, things are rapidly evolving in healthcare, and those who want to cling to the way we’ve always done it are in for a rude awakening.

(C) 2019 Practitioner’s Path

It’s no longer just me saying these things. Academic programs in this corner of the industry have begun to update their curricular offerings absent a pathway to the credential.

Why?

The world has changed and moved on, AND (this may be hard for some folks to read): the credential and the expertise it represents aren’t valued in the industry as they once were.

Are there colleagues of mine who are stomping their feet and pointing at their framed, credential certificate and insisting that “no one can do the work WE do!” ?

Yep.

Will they be able to stop the changes?

Not a chance.

The industry has found technology options that can accomplish many of the tasks once performed by individuals with specialized knowledge. It has also recognized that some of those tasks are obsolete.

Example: 20 years ago, when (hospital accreditors) The Joint Commission (TJC) showed up for a site visit, the Director of Medical Records (HIM) was one of the first people summoned to the front office.

The reason? Checking for unsigned paper medical records was a large component of the accreditation site visit (& a pain point for the hospital).

About a decade ago, I began to notice changes such as the accreditation agency eliminating metrics specific to medical records, and adding metrics more specific to patient safety, and paying closer attention to the environment of care.

In the highly connected world we live in today, finding unsigned records doesn’t require the HIM Director to unlock the records room and allow the accreditation team to pull random records to flip through, seeking an unsigned note. All that needs to happen is for someone – anyone with appropriate access – to pull a report from the now-electronic medical records system, and instead of assessing the random sample (a few records), they can see if there are ANY in the entire facility, and in much less time.

I saw the changing importance of the traditional duties in my profession in stark clarity when, in 2017, TJC showed up for a site visit and I was never once contacted. I remember thinking: “We’re not in Kansas – or the 20th century – any more!”

It’s heartening to see some corners of academia pivoting to embrace the realities of the day. It shows that thinking people with a clear eye on what’s happening all around them are at the helm and making often-difficult decisions that will help them ride the waves of change to that new tomorrow – whatever and wherever that may be.

Back in 2010, I ended up being a very unpopular speaker at a local conference when I suggested that, like Medical Transcription (a once viable profession that was replaced by technology), medical coding and billing was going to be replaced.

As the transcriptionists did when I told them the same thing years before, the coding professionals stomped their feet, shook their heads and pronounced me a “negative person”.

Hmmmm, I’ve heard that before! (side eye at the metaphysical spiritual community).

The truth of the matter is that history has shown that being realistic about what’s obviously unfolding in front of our eyes isn’t “being negative”; it’s being astute.

Instead of wringing my hands and stomping my feet about the changes in my profession, I’ve made sure – over the years – that I added and enhanced skills that are transferable and valued in the workplace. I’ve made inroads into other industries, and accepted that change is a natural part of life.

I don’t see that happening in organized spiritual metaphysics. Instead of accepting the reality of the day and pivoting to find their place in the new moment; most in the organization are digging in because “Ernest Holmes said we should turn away from reality and know the truth!”

How’s that been working so far?

In my professional world, people are having to face the fact that the experience, expertise and knowledge base grounded in the past is largely irrelevant and will not provide a viable foundation for the future. Some are retiring; others are leaving to move into a whole new profession and some are up-skilling in their current roles so to be able to lead change from within – understanding that it’s likely to look and be a LOT different from “the way it always was,…”.

That’s life. The folks in this corner of healthcare who accept the changes as part of the natural life cycle will be successful. The ones who don’t will find themselves increasingly marginalized, out of touch and eventually – out of work.

My next blog post is going to address visioning, which is listed as a “tool” by the largest spiritual metaphysics organization, so I’m not going down that rabbit hole here; but I do wonder how many centers, ministers or practitioners are visioning furiously to change the trajectory of the organization’s decline.

A better use of time and energy might be to look around at what IS wanted by people in need and what may be options for the cadre of unemployed ministers they continue to churn out. There is a lot of good work to be done by people of good will, if they are more interested in doing good work than swooshing about in a robe and stole and being in the “Rev-Dr” club.

Here’s a short list of a few options:

• After school care for low income families
• Food for food banks
• Volunteers for soup kitchens
• Rides to help isolated seniors and others to get to doctor and other appointments
• Diaper collections for low-income families who are trying to balance the many expenses of life
• Offering social activities that are open and welcoming to marginalized communities

There’s a lot of opportunity available to BE the good the world needs and make a difference. It’s time to pivot away from the hand-wringing, Holmes-quoting, and looking back. It’s time to chart a new path forward.

Just remember that some of the things you were pursuing in that old model will not be featured in the new way of being. It’s a great opportunity to practice “letting go” – which is advice that folks in that Rev-Dr club should be able to heed if they’re also dishing it out to others.

(C) 2023 Practitioner’s Path

Kindness as Cure

I’m writing this from the Manchester/Boston Regional Airport as I wrap up another visit to New Hampshire where I spoke at an annual professional meeting.

My talk, Rock Your Super Power at Work (no cape necessary), highlighted the research that exists on the link between choosing to be kind, and our well-being mentally, emotionally and physically.

I was further suggesting in my talk that anyone – regardless of title, position or salary – can impact change for the better in any organization by simply being kind.

The data in numerous research studies strongly suggests that there is a “positive feedback loop” between being kind to others and feeling content and happy in our own lives.

Performing random acts of kindness helps boost our sense of well-being in part because they activate the release of dopamine in our brains. When we are kind to others, our brains produce endorphins. These in turn induce a physical feeling similar to an opiate “high”.

In other words, if we’re feeling down, a little depressed or otherwise “meh“,…we should do something nice for someone – and science says we’ll turn our misery around. According to research summarized in a fact sheet published by Dartmouth Wellness, active kindness (being kind in word and deed) decreases pain, anxiety, depression, cortisol levels (which raise under stressful conditions), and blood pressure.

But there’s even more reason to up our Vitamin K(indness): it seems we really can change the world – no matter who we are or where we live.

“The positive effects of kindness are experienced in the brain of everyone who witnessed the act, improving their mood and making them significantly more likely to pay it forward.” [Dartmouth Wellness Fact Sheet]

image from kindness.org

As I shared with the group today, this means that we don’t have to be a CEO to make positive change at work; a mayor or council person to make positive changes in our community.

We can begin where we are right now, and plant seeds of kindness that will impact the people around us and ultimately, the world.

I’ve always liked Wayne Dyer’s counsel on kindness: “When you have the choice to be right, or to be kind – choose kindness.”

And so it is.

(C) 2018 Practitioner's Path

Kindness research/references:

• Berkeley
• Dartmouth Wellness
• Psychology Today 
• Random Acts of Kindness
• More Random Acts of Kindness
• WWW.RANDOMACTSOFKINDNESS.ORG

More than money

I often write about how walking an inspired life helps cover us in situations where money is the issue. I’ve outlined how missing checks have returned, potential overdrafts have been circumvented and how a leaky roof, an unexpected bonus and a busy season conspired to teach me that I’m always provided.

Recently I’ve begun to recall incidents where I’ve been VERY provided, but money was not involved. For example, last month I was participating on a high-level committee that was dealing with a serious and important issue at the hospital where I work. There was a lot at stake for me professionally as well as for the issue we had undertaken.

One morning as I headed over to the 8:30 meeting, I was ahead of schedule so I stopped by the coffee kiosk and grabbed a Starbucks. Pleased with my timing that day, I proceeded to the meeting room where the entire rest of the team awaited. 

“What time did you think this meeting was?” the leader asked.

I looked at him somewhat befuddled.

“Eight-thirty,” I answered as I glanced at my watch.

“The meeting invitation said 8am,” he said, but before I could get sick to my stomach, one of the physicians spoke up and said he thought it was an 8:30 meeting too.

“Well, it doesn’t matter – our featured guest can’t get off the floor until 8:30, so I guess you’re right on time.”

I felt faint and relieved at the same time.

Being late to this meeting would NOT have been a good thing, but like the bonus money that showed up when I needed a roof repair, a physician also had the wrong time – AND – our featured guest (the sole purpose for this meeting) was unavailable to meet with us until 8:30.

Our guest showed up, we took care of our meeting business and went on our way.

As I returned to my office that day I felt immense gratitude for once again “being provided” in a way that was as important – and maybe more important – than any of the financial issues I’ve dealt with since beginning to study these principles.

Before studying these principles I would have beaten myself up for getting the time wrong, chastised myself for some perceived shortcoming, and allowed the situation to ruin the rest of my day and possibly week. 

The difference between now and then is that now I start each day by setting an intention to be open and receptive to all the Good the Universe has to offer. The best part is that my Good shows up time and time again, just as it did in the form of a physician and a perfectly-timed late guest.

We are provided, always and in all ways.

Your Success is Already Here

Thank you for reading this post. I just wanted to be clear that I do appreciate my readers; you’ll understand why in a minute.

I looked around a couple months ago and realized that there are way too many of us existing in this moment while we frantically look around to see how to live a better life in a different moment. And just in case we question that logic, there are a host of talking (blogging) heads out there providing their 2-cents on what we should do to be happier, make more money, advance our careers, live more fulfilling lives,…and much, much more.

For many of us, right after college graduation or soon into our first jobs we begin to look around and figure out that the way to a raise and a promotion runs right through graduate school. We jump on that treadmill and in our mid-to-late 20’s we are working 40+ hours a week and attending school at night, which means a lot of our so-called downtime is spent writing papers, coordinating class projects and trying to stay awake for yet another dull sage-on-a-stage (I can say that – I used to be one).

We finish that graduate degree and may or may not get a promotion. In some companies hiring from within is a non-starter so graduate sheepskin in hand, we begin to look around at where we can go to advance our careers. Now that our student loan debt has grown significantly, we’re hoping it will be worth what we spent.

It is my opinion that too many of us come out of college thinking we’re on the CEO track. Similar to our high school angst on SAT scores and college admission letters, we begin to fret if by age 30 we’re not a VP with a 6-digit salary. And so we begin the frantic search for the value-add that will give our careers a boost.

We follow leadership gurus, and attend seminars on how to grow our careers. We study the lives and bathroom habits of rock stars like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson and others to figure out how to replicate their success; but we are all missing the boat. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (and I suspect most phenoms) succeeded wildly because they focused their time on things that interested them,…and they worked really hard at those things and didn’t allow themselves to get distracted with the latest guru’s opinion. They didn’t look externally for someone to point the way, or attend workshops to learn the secrets of success. They put a laser focus on something that interested them, and didn’t let up until something of quality emerged.

If you truly want to find phenomenal success, stop chasing gurus, following 50 talking heads, and spending time and money on workshops and graduate degrees believing that they’ll point the way to your success. Your success is already right in front of you. It may not be full-grown and easily-recognized, but that’s because you’ve been neglecting it.

Look around you right now: what do you enjoy? what are you good at? what problems do people bring to you to solve? You may not be the VP of Solving Problems in your area of expertise, but you’re building a foundation that has more wisdom and success secrets tucked in it than anything you can learn in a weekend workshop with someone else (who may or may not have figured out anything of substance).

I’m not suggesting that listening to gurus and reading blogs is bad, but if all we do is listen to others and spend our time and money hanging on their every word, we’ll never find the time to discover our own genius. It’s in there and the tools and avenues for expressing it are all around us.

Thanks again for reading this – now log off and go do something awesome!

This blog was originally posted on Author’s LinkedIn site

 

Just Another Day at Work

Today I led a seminar titled, “Take this Job,… and LOVE It!” and some very insightful learning points emerged in our activities and discussion.

There are many New Thought teachers who offer coaching for those among us who want to ditch the corporate “9-to-5” and Go Solo, but let’s face it – most of us will be working for an organization as an employee until we retire, and perhaps even beyond!

In my life I’ve worked all sorts of jobs at every level in many diverse organizations. In one of my corporate presentations I admit to “complaining my way through a lot of different organizations” 🙂

Working for anyone other than yourself can be tough; working under the constraints and bureaucracy of someone else’s idea of an ideal workplace adds another layer of challenge to that mix, but as we learned today – you don’t have to choose between Going Solo and being miserable. You do need to change your mindset about the things at work that make you miserable.

If you’re not happy at work, but you don’t know what you would do to find happier work, you might want to check out my eBook, “Finding Your Way: uncover your path to a better job” (it’s designed to help you discover work that gives more back to you than it takes away, whether in your current job or somewhere else).

If you already know what you want to do, but can’t do that right now (or believe that you cannot), here’s the affirmation today’s seminar attendees received on a card to carry with them when they left today:

I’m grateful for my job! Every day my

knowledge, skills & abilities expand.

I recognize each colleague, manager

& employee as an important life teacher.

I welcome every task & situation as a

chance to fully express my unique gifts.

I am thankful for this job & all

the good it brings into my life!

Write it down and tuck it into your wallet, stick it on your computer monitor, on your cork board or overhead office cabinet. Affirm this each day when you arrive, and again before you leave (read it to yourself silently if necessary); work these statements into your actions at work, and watch the magic start to unfold. Then you too can take your job,…and LOVE IT!

Take this Job,…and LOVE It!

Another learning opportunity for anyone in the Pittsburgh region: next Saturday, April 18th beginning at 8:30am, I’ll be presenting a seminar for anyone who’s not loving their job and working for the love of it! Take this Job and LOVE It will teach you how to take even the most miserable job situation and transform it into something better.

Sometimes this happens within the same position and company while other times it means a different role in a different department or perhaps even an entirely different organization.

Participants will start the shift in their work consciousness during the seminar, and will be given tools to work with after they leave. The power to change your circumstances is closer than you think. Come join me and learn how to harness that power and make it work for you.

For a Friends & Family ticket discount, email me and tell me you saw this on my Blog!

Indignant or Empowered: the choice is yours

Just 2 short weeks ago we moved into February – the month of hearts, cupids and loving sentiments. While chocolate, red roses and romance has been plentiful in the Northeast, so has the cold weather and snow! Daylight still fades much sooner than most of us wish it would and the last vestiges of 2014 holiday cheer faded just as our good friend Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of cold, snowy and “not-quite-Spring” weather. People are tired of being cold, shoveling snow, wearing boots and battling treacherous roads on the way to work which translates into an environment that’s ripe for disagreements and other workplace conflict.

In other words, it’s a tough month to remind people about the Complaint-Free concept! This mid-Winter melancholy recently inspired me to share some advice from Eleanor Roosevelt; wisdom that is timeless and relevant for all of us at some point in our lives.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

I am particularly encouraged by this quote because it came from a woman who endured a lot of very public criticism. Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of the 32nd President of the United States (Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and was instrumental in his presidency during war time when he became ill. After his death, her tireless work for the nation, including advocacy for those without a voice, culminated in her appointment to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in 1945 by President Harry Truman.

Mrs. Roosevelt’s biography is much more extensive than this brief mention, but my point is that she accomplished a great deal in her lifetime, and did so regardless of the often-hurtful things said about her by strangers as well as close associates.

“What in the world does this have to do with me?!?” you may be wondering.

We’ve all said things carelessly. Sometimes we realize this and apologize – other times we have no conscious realization that our words have upset or hurt someone and we go on our way.

While each of us is responsible for asking, “how can I be more kind?” we also have a responsibility for the way we react when careless things are said to or about us.
We can choose to be incensed and insulted; to carry the indignation around like a badge, telling our “how dare they!” story and creating disharmony, OR we can choose to allow the comments to roll off of us like water off of a duck’s feathers. In some circles this is called “choosing not to own it”.

When we refuse to “own” the insult or careless comments of another, the words lose their power. More importantly – we reclaim our power. By knowing that we get to define ourselves and what we contribute, we can neutralize and rise above what someone else thinks or says about us. Their words become irrelevant in defining who we are, what we do and most important of all: how we feel.

So,…the next time you catch yourself getting upset or angry about what another person says to you, or about you,….channel your inner Eleanor and ask yourself if you are willing to give your consent – your power – to someone else, …and then make a different choice.

Know your worth; remind yourself often, and make this week your best week of 2015 so far!

 

originally posted on the author’s LinkedIn page 

Watch out for “How Dare You” energy

Anyone on a spiritual path of self-discovery knows that as you achieve certain realizations about yourself and your behaviors, thought-patterns and such, you also develop a keen ability to spot the same behavior or thought-process in others. One of the challenges as we progress along our path is to avoid pointing out to others where they need to improve as we recognize these things. I’ve come to believe that this seemingly-improved vision for the trait in others is Spirit’s way of putting up a mirror for us to see ourselves – not as a clarion call to correct everyone else’s behavior. Of course if you’re engaged in a relationship that allows coaching or counseling to occur, this conversation may be appropriate, but even then I encourage caution – this is YOUR lesson most of the time.

Lately I’ve been recognizing what I’m calling “how dare you!” energy. In looking back over my own life and especially at situations where things just didn’t work out, I noticed a pattern: the energy of how dare you! was always involved at some level.

Taking the position of how dare you! casts us as the victim. Avoiding the victim stance is elementary-school-learning in self-help curricula, success-coaching programs and most spiritual pathways to higher consciousness. The energy of how dare you! also allows us to assume a perspective as if we are on a higher level – like royalty; “how dare you walk upright in the presence of the Queen!?“, for example.

In my own experience, I’ve noticed that when that how dare you! energy springs forth it is a signal that I am not OK with what I’m bringing to the situation or circumstance. I may be feeling unprepared for a task at work, or that I’m being judged as inferior for my clothing, looks, or zip code. I have especially been indignant in work situations of the past when I felt that my background, experience and knowledge were superior and others were erroneously placed in roles above me. I eventually realized that the longer I maintained the how dare you! energy field, the harder my life got in that circumstance.

Stepping away from the how dare you! perspective was hardest for me in the professional arena. All the data points bolstered my claims that I had a right be indignant, as did the outcomes, but as I have found – the Universe doesn’t keep score using the same rules book that we do. I credit several resources for aiding my transition away from how dare you! reactions, including Dr. Wayne Dyer and Dr. Deepak Chopra in their early years as partners in this teaching: (“How to Get What You Really, Really, Really, Really Want”), Dr. Dyer’s book, “The Power of Intention” and Dr. Chopra’s book, “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success”. I’ve read many more books and viewed multiple presentations by each author but these 3 stand out for me as key learning resources.

I am also grateful for all the classes I have taken at my Center which have greatly supported my growth in this area, especially studies on Thomas Troward’s Edinburgh Lectures and the great, timeless wisdom contained in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Now, as to what to do when you come across this behavior in others: nothing. The best way to help is to do what Leadership gurus Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner teach in their best-selling books on the process they call “The Leadership Challenge“, and specifically, steps 1 and 5 in their Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.

Step 1: Model the Way

Kouzes and Posner’s 5 Exemplary Practices begin with the step they call “Model the Way” which means walk it, rather than talk it.

Don’t correct, cajole and catch people in the act. Instead, take every opportunity to SHOW how this is done when it appears in your own life. When someone comes to you with an opportunity for your how dare you! energy to bubble up, react in love and kindness; don’t feed into the need for drama that seems to permeate so much of our lives if we’re not careful. Refuse to be indignant, but do so quietly and with a smile.

“Yes, I know that it was my project and that Susan presented it to the executive team without mentioning me; but I know that sometimes people get caught up in the moment and forget the best made plans. I’m sure it was a harmless oversight – and it doesn’t diminish my skills; I still have them and they’ll come in handy again and again! It’s a win-win for all of us.”

Step 5: Encourage the Heart (I recommend that you also check out steps 2, 3 and 4)

Kouzes and Posner’s 5 Exemplary Practices end with the step they call “Encourage the Heart” which resonated with me from the time I was introduced to it in graduate school (thank you Professor Karen Myrick).  I now see that this model, and especially Step 5, is in alignment with the Truth teachings I have been studying far from the hallowed halls of academia. As a leader in a healthcare organization, I often reach back to this model and strive to highlight and praise the good and downplay the negative. Using the same example above,…later at an all-staff meeting (that includes the person who “tattled” on Susan).

“Susan – your presentation to the executive team was terrific! Thank you for representing our department so professionally – I knew you were the perfect person to present this material, and I could tell from the look on everyone’s face that they understood your material as well as the next steps everyone needs to take. Thank you again!”

Notice I did not mention that she forgot me, nor did I slide in a slur about “my data” – this was all about Susan, who will walk away from this interaction knowing that she has been encouraged and supported, which means she’ll work even harder next time to represent our department well. As a leader, that benefits me more than any insertion of a name or credit on a report. Perhaps more importantly, it shows (or models) the behavior I want others to integrate into their lives but in a way that does not scold, or condemn.

The paths we travel are for our learning and growth, primarily. This does not mean we can’t help others along the way, but as I have learned most poignantly in the recognition of my own how dare you! energy, we teach with greater impact when we light the candle (or in other parlance, become the change), instead of spending our time cursing the darkness (pointing out the problem).

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”  ~Mahatma Gandhi

And So It Is.

Misinterpretation 101

At one time in my life I believed that the manipulation of scripture for selfish purposes was the distinct purview of fundamentalist religions. I recently found out that it’s not limited to fundamentalists, at least as most of us define them. The Bible certainly has its fair share of obscure stories and confusing riddles that hardly seem to relate to life in the 21st century. Other stories and parables, however; are quite clear. For example, the parable of the talents. Here’s a recap if your biblical scholarship is as rusty as some I’ve recently heard offered up:

¹⁴ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

In this story Jesus is highlighting talents, or gifts, skills and abilities. The master goes away, presumably for a long trip, and leaves 3 servants with five, two and a single talent. A talent is an amount equal to a good bit of silver, in ancient terms so we can think of these talents as money.

The master entrusts the 3 servants with money, “each according to his ability”, which suggests that the one that only received 1 talent hadn’t proved that he could handle much more (a point worth remembering). In this scripture, it’s clear that the talents are not gifts for the servants to use as they see fit, but are investments that belong to the master. When the master returns, the servant who was given the 5 talents had “invested”, or traded them and earned double, rendering 10 talents back to the master. Similarly the servant given the 2 talents made good on his gifts and returned to the master 4 talents – doubling the initial amount.

The servant who gets in trouble is the one who basically said, “I’ll keep it safe for the master, but I’m not interested in doing any work to make it grow.” In other words, I won’t steal it, but I’m not interested in working to make it any larger, either.

Many interpretations of this particular parable use the 3rd servant’s example to highlight laziness, and indeed in the example above (from the English Standard Version) the term “slothful” is used to describe the servant who basically buried the talent and went about his business (not the master’s business).  The third servant tries to bargain with his angry master, offering several excuses: he was afraid (“I knew you to be a hard man ,…”) and he suggests that it should be OK since at least he didn’t lose the original talent (“I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours”).

So, in modern parlance, what is this parable saying?

The master in Christian interpretation is always viewed as Jesus and the work done by the 2 servants always seen as using one’s gifts for the glory of God. In less strict religious terms, a similar interpretation could be that the natural talents and the abundance we have demonstrated through Spirit expressing in and as each one of us represents the talents, and the master is simply our higher consciousness. If we live in gratitude and embrace the abundance that is offered to us without limit, and employ that abundance in living greater we will be rewarded with even more abundance. If, however; we take the bounty we are given and bury it, or hoard it for safe-keeping, we are in essence denying the Truth that we are always provided. We are paying lip service to “God is our Source” and hiding our talent (abundance) because we’re not sure if we’ll ever get any more.

It is for this reason that the parable ends with verse 29: “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” **

When we live in the knowledge that God is our Source, and that we are always provided, we don’t have to cling to the little that we have; we don’t have to be stingy with our time, our money or live a miserly and fear-based life. We know (KNOW!) that we are provided, always and in all ways. BUT, if we stray from the knowledge of that Truth and believe that we are the ones in control and that we need to micro-manage the little that we have, else it will disappear… it is as good as gone. “…even what he has will be taken away.”

The final verse of that passage, verse 30 ends with an ominous tone: “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The visual of  hell and eternal damnation is not what I see in this last statement. If the kingdom of heaven is within us, then indeed the outer darkness exists within as well. When we live in fear, doubt and worry about being provided for, and our actions are those that serve only ourselves – for the reasons noted (fear, lacking or misguided faith), then we are creating our own darkness. This darkness is the out-picturing of what we are creating with our actions. While we foolishly try to convince ourselves that “I don’t need to do any more” or “at least I’m conserving what I have,…”, the bounty of life unfolds to those who are meeting life halfway; those who are getting out and trading in the market of today – not hiding something from the past to keep it safe. The wailing and gnashing of teeth we will hear is not of demons in some infernal cave, but the misery we create right here and right now by living in lack, due entirely to our own actions/inactions, lack of faith and unwillingness to do the work with the 1 talent we have been given.

So, what will you do with the talents you have been given? Will you “show up” and prove that you’re ready for more so that the next time “the master leaves you in charge of his talents”, more is provided to you on account of your proven increase in ability? Will you roll up your sleeves and go into the market to trade them, whereupon you will be given even more? Or will you dig a hole in the ground, and cling desperately to that original talent, believing that as long as you hold on to that 1 talent, you’ll be OK; fearing any travails into the marketplace that might result in you trading that old talent for 2 new ones?

This parable is one of my favorites, whether from a Christian or New Thought perspective. It’s straightforward and relevant regardless of the circumstance or century. And so it is.

 

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** if someone has used this verse to admonish you from “giving to need” feel free to ignore their counsel. It’s clear that this is not what it (the verse) means. When it comes to giving, I encourage you to think for yourself and follow your heart. Stay tuned for more on what the Bible really says about giving to the poor (it might surprise you…)  –> coming soon to this blog site!

It’s time to think about the holidays

Nature’s Autumn Color Palette

It’s that time of year, again! Halloween has passed (barely!) and the retailers are already stocking the shelves with all things Red, Green and Santa so they can realize (and perhaps surpass) last year’s sales projections for their 4th-Quarter. I’ll get caught up in it to some extent, as I always do. I have wonderful memories from Christmas and cannot help but feel the anticipation and the warmth of the season, no matter how commercialized it gets.

Lately I have been thinking of ways to stretch the Good parts of the holiday season so that it’s more than a frenzied rush to December 24th that ends in a flurry of paper & ribbon. Today is the 1st of November, and as I was raking leaves this morning I got the idea to celebrate Thanksgiving all this month by identifying people and organizations that I am grateful for, and giving to them. I’ve identified a few, like the postal carrier who delivers mail and packages in all kinds of weather, the cleaning crew in my office, and others I come across in my day to day travels. This giving will not supersede or replace other giving I am already engaged in, but will be my own personal journey this holiday season to acknowledge people, places and organizations that help bring so much of the Good that I have into my life.

To close, I want to share a brief story from work. This time of year my employer is engaged in a campaign, which allows employees to give to their chosen organizations utilizing payroll deduction or a one-time payment. Two of my employees are the key workers on this effort this year for our department, and we were talking about giving, in general. The topic of giving and not worrying if you will have enough came up, and one of them told me she has never given from her heart that it didn’t come back to her in multiples. That wasn’t why she gave, but it allowed her to give in confidence, never being concerned if she needed to hold back. This resonated with my experience growing up in a family where giving was “just what you do“.

Later in the week, this same employee’s name was pulled as winner of a contest that we have each month (I hold monthly employee engagement activities that include contests; winners get gift cards and other prizes). On her way home for the weekend she stopped by my office and said, “Check your email”

She had sent me an article about an older woman who worked around her neighborhood planting flowers, cleaning up, and helping people beautify their homes, and more. This woman had an old pickup truck that she used in her gardening and other neighborhood activities. Recently, her truck had been hit by another vehicle and totaled. The older woman was not in a position to replace the truck, but someone in the neighborhood recognized that the woman, her truck and her “gifts” of service were a neighborhood treasure, and they started a collection to help her get another truck.

I finished the article and looked over at my employee, who was holding her winning gift card.

“Like I was sayin’ earlier this week. When I give, I always get back. That’s not why I give, but I know I always got enough. I wrote a check toward that truck find earlier this week, and today I won this gift card,” she said waving the card in the air.

“It ain’t always that quick!” she laughed, “but it never fails!”

There’s great comfort for me in the constancy of giving as I remember from my childhood, as I practice it today and in the realization that this shared Truth crosses religious traditions, culture and communities. And so it is.