INVOLVEMENT
AT WORK: WHERE THE BORDERS BETWEEN WORK, SOCIETY AND JOY MELT AWAY, TOUCHING ON
THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
I
am at a purpose built office building in a small town miles away from any town
or city in the isolated part of North Eastern Nebraska. I am here on my monthly
visit as an Endocrinologist and Medical Anthropologist.
On
the first day, we had such in depth involvement with all of the patients; we
spend a very long time with each patient, with a minimum of one hour each. At
the end of the day, we felt an inner joy and a pleasure of being connected with
a world, which is outside of our bodies. I work with an excellent Nurse
Educator who has visited me in Cuba with her husband.
We
know where they live, who do they live with, their family relationships, as
rarely would you see an Indian Nuclear family. Most Indian families are
multigenerational, where they work and in many cases the conditions of the
houses they live in and their financial situation (Indians generally do not
have much cash! But have strong family ties and no one ever goes hungry)
I
asked an Indian from this tribe who is studying to become a Nurse in the town
nearby, how are your classmates? Who are in general children of white parents
who had just graduated from college? They don’t seem to be that interested,
they look at this as work and they are not connected to the patients.
For
us the connection to the patients is very important, because we know who they
are and some of them have known us for years.
An
example: yesterday I went down to the local convenience store and as I entered
the lady at the counter said: Doctor how are you and how is Cuba? I don’t
remember meeting the lady, and asked her, how did you know? She said my nephew
was with you last week in Cuba! So better be transparent and hide nothing and
the welcome in this isolated place is fantastic.
We
are involved in the lives of our patients in and out of the clinic at many
levels. This is not work for us but a way to serve this community many of who
treat me like a family member.
This
morning before going to the Clinic, I did the Isha Kriya meditation Yoga. And
always that gives you such an energy boost to the brain. As if it was a
coincidence (coincidence do not exist, explains the Indians), a video of
Sadhguru explaining involvement and entanglement appears and it was so meaningful
in the context of where we are and what we do.
