1."The Story-Shaped Life" by Sue Monk Kidd was an interesting read for me because it is very relatable. We have all had tough things happen to us, some tougher than others, but not everyone copes with things the same way. Some people are stronger than others but as a nurse, you have to be welcoming and approachable in order to attract people and allow them to open up to you. On page 21, Sue Monk Kidd quoted, "God made man because he loves stories". Sometimes people just need someone to vent to. Someone who cannot take sides in an argument and can be completely non-biased and supportive. When my father passed away six years ago it was a somewhat messy story and people would ask how he died and get a little personal when I maybe didn't want to give them my entire life story just because I mentioned my father died. From that experience I can better relate to other people who have similar hardships and I now understand that people will tell you the details if they want to but sometimes it is okay to just be silent and listen. I also found that the more I talked about my father's death, the easily it was to cope with the sadness. That is why when the article talked about telling your story can help heal the inner soul, I was able to relate. Keeping hardships buried deep inside will only eat at you and its okay to open up and be vulnerable at times. which is exactly what patients are, vulnerable.
2."I found that I could not climb my way up to God in a blaze of doing and performing. Rather, I had to descend into the depths of my own soul and find God there in the darkness of trouble waters.”-Sue Monk Kidd.
I believe our work within healthcare should be driven by the philosophy that our mission is to remain humble and compassionate. Kidd’s quote reminds us that we should not serve others or ourselves by “doing and performing” but rather, we should serve in a way that heals and cares for others. Focusing on simply achieving material success or becoming so distracted by the negativity of our work results in us going through the motions in order to achieve or get by. We must slow down. We must be present in order to live our potential. We must be present in order to serve others adequately. Kidd talks about needing to descend into her own soul to find God in the darkness, but this thought can be applied to patient care. By descending into our patient’s darkness, we can find God (the guidance of how to heal our patients). If we are simply doing and performing, we are hindering our ability to go deep with our patients and serve their more hidden needs. Remaining humble and compassionate requires us to be present with our patents, to listen and truly care. In doing this we may enter some darkness, but it seems that is the place where we will find their story and understanding that story will help us to understand how to heal them.
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