Predicaments & Problems Differ QUALITATIVELY ... Know the Difference

     Dealing effectively with life's predicaments - existential issues, whether we recognize it or not, is perhaps the most important determinant of our quality of life from middle age & onwards. Carl Jung had a lot to say about this: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/search?q=Jung
     A recurring fundamental error in health care, & life in general, is mistaking predicaments for problems.
     Problems, such as a splinter in the thumb, can & should be solved via relatively quick, simple, often mechanical solutions.  
     Predicaments, such as chronic pain & other existential issues, differ qualitatively from problems. 1st we must recognize that these are NOT problems, but predicaments. 2nd, that effective management requires nothing less than a life-time's maturation toward wisdom. 
     "Wisdom" is completely absent from most health-care & even most liberal arts curricula, therefore, predicaments are generally poorly managed. A healer must take the journey for herself first, only then can she become a useful guide for patients to do the same.

        Hollis J. “Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life.” Gotham Books, NY, 2005.

        Hollis J. "What matters most. Living a more considered life." Gotham Books, NY, 2009. 

 

Elena Shumilova  http://www.flickr.com/photos/75571860@N06/11874722676/