Health Education: A healing narrative

This was written by my cousin in the USA after the election. The loss of reason, logic and justice cuts deep into our collective consciousness as we begin to go through the stages of grief together. It feels like a death, or a really bad hangover. Like did that really happen last night and when will it end?  It makes me reflect on the chapter in our text about social inequalities and how they affect effect individuals and groups mental health. People are depressed, angry, hurt, confused, let down and shocked that someone who is so ignorant, sexist, racist and divisive had gained power in a so called democratic country. The sad reality is that this is a country that had done much damage to the world, and has a history of slavery, now it seems like it is imploding on itself.  I too feel shocked, sad, and uncertain for my family living in the States. I don't know what to do except for hold onto an idealistic belief that light and goodness will always prevail over dark times. I m

I chose to share this poem by Rumi as it describes the oneness of our humanity. Beyond religion, nature, cultures, borders, and beliefs, we are human-beings, breathing the same breaths in this limited lifetime. From duality and separation comes the possibility of union and the concept of oneness. The goal of many of the worlds religions are the same, and we are all in this together.  The Sanskrit word Yoga means union and involves practices that connect the individual self to the universal Self.   Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu Buddhist, Sufi or Zen. Not any religion  I am not from the East or the West,  not out of the ocean or up from the ground,  not natural or ethereal,  not composed of elements at all.  I do not exist,   am not an entity in this world or in the next,  did not descend from Adam and Eve,  or any origin story.  My place is placeless,  a trace of the traceless.  Neither body or soul. I belong

Reflect on a time when you received care – the other cared for you and how you knew you were cared for. This past weekend brought up some fears and doubts. My mind has a tendency to race and it raced away from me into the future thinking am I in the right place? Did I choose the right program? Will there ever enough time to get it all done? I tend to get anxious and irritable when I am feeling stressed out. I am also really tired coping with some form of mama insomnia. I want to avoid, exit and escape painful and uncomfortable situations. Unfortunately, who gets the brunt of this is my family, mainly my life partner. He is such an amazing man who is generous and kind in his actions. He loves from such an unconditional place and I am Debbie Doubter, questioning it all and even being mean sometimes. I want to be and do everything and get it right, but it's so darn hard!   I teach my son not to shout or hurt others, and he listens. It is so much harder to listen to my own wor