Authenticity

     “Michael Kearney, an Irish psychiatrist and hospice physician, defined suffering as ‘the experience of an individual who has become disconnected and alienated from the deepest and most fundamental aspects of him or herself.’ Psychiatrist, Victor Frankl … asserted that: ‘Man is not destroyed by suffering, he is destroyed by suffering without meaning.’
     Coulehan J. Compassionate solidarity: suffering, poetry, & medicine. Perspect Biol Med 2009; 52(4): 585-603.

     “authenticity (is) the unimpeded functioning of one’s true self in daily life … is positively related to such important outcomes as self-actualization, self-concept clarity, and self-esteem.”
     Schlegel RJ et al. Thine own self: true self-concept accessibility and meaning in life. J Pers Soc Psychol 2009; 96(2): 473-90.

     One definition of spirituality is … “every person’s inherent search for ultimate meaning and purpose in life … including a relationship with … transcendence; relationships with others; as well as spirituality found in nature, art, and rational thought. Critical to the definition is that spirituality underlies the very nature of the relationship with our patients and each other.”
     Puchalski CM. Spirituality and medicine: curricula in medical education. J Cancer Educ 2006; 21(1): 14-8.

     “If we want to grow as teachers -- we must do something alien to academic culture: we must talk to each other about our inner lives -- risky stuff in a profession that fears the personal and seeks safety in the technical, the distant, the abstract.”
        Parker J. Palmer, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life