Signpost #4: The bare essentials

So many of my clinics in PNG took place under a tree.  I loved this way of life.  The bare essentials that I took with me to my work day were my yoga mat and the physio bag.  The physio bag had a couple therabands, patient registration sheets, a pen (on a good day) and the exercise handout for back and knee pain.  It's not that I am against technology.  Electronic medical record systems are wonderful.  With these digital records, all you have to do is type the patient's first and last name into the box on your monitor and WALAH - there is the record of every clinic visit, x-ray and procedure that the patient has ever had.  It makes the history taking process so easy.  However, I have found that it can be challenging to deliver patient-centered care with a computer right in front of my face.  Sometimes the tools that help me work more efficiently distract me from doing what I  deep down want to do the most.

My fourth signpost from PNG is to remember my bare essentials.  The memory of working under a tree reminds me of this signpost.  I think it is helpful to have seasons in your life where you return to, ponder, and reevaluate the bare essentials of your profession, your life, and your values.  No, I don't think these seasons have to take place on the other side of the world.  But I do think you have to be intentional about setting these times aside.  It is so easy to get distracted.

On my flight to Australia, I was reminded core beliefs when I was reading a chapter in Clayton King's book " Amazing Encounters with God (thanks for this gift, Aunt Laura). The chapter was entitled "Believing Your Beliefs." Basically, it gave a story about a time when it was truly visible that Clayton and his friend were believing and living out their beliefs.  This story got me thinking.  What are my core beliefs?  Am I living those out?  What am I all about?  And what am I not all about?  Shauna Niequist devotes a chapter in her book Bittersweet to the things she doesn't do. She quotes a friend that said:

 "it’s not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. 

What’s hard, she said, is figuring out what you’re willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about."

I like to refer to myself as overly optimistic.  This is one of those great traits that I can use as a strength and a weakness on a job interview.  Yes, it is great to see the cup as half-full but literally thinking I can do it all leads me to overcommitting myself, fueling up on caffeine and running late.  Throughout my time in PNG, I got to sit on the side of the ship or on some rock overlooking the water and remember what my core beliefs are. Those things that I want to be all about or feel called to be all about.  I started making my list of things I do and things I don't do.  As I looked back over my journal today, I was reminded just how much I don't like thinking about things I don't do.  In my journal that list is still blank. I must have gotten distracted.  I don't usually like to be the one that shuts the door.  If it is open and I don't walk through it that's ok, but I just don't want to close it.  I'm still figuring out why I am wired this way and which way I am supposed to grow.  But I do know that we only have so much time and energy.  Deep down, I don't want to waste any time or any energy.  But I do.  So that's when I return to my bare essentials.  I grab those things I need to hold on to most for this journey.  Those things that will help me know God more and love people better.  We have made so many things that will help us live more efficiently through life.  But are those things distracting me from my bare essentials.  And what am I willing to give up so that I live out my core beliefs in a more illuminated way?

I've still got some work to do on this one.  However, the picture of working under a tree will remind me of how beautiful working with just the bare essentials can be.

What helps you to be reminded of the bare essentials in your life?

How do you remind yourself to live more on those essentials rather than the things that distract us from those essentials?