Care
“How you do anything is how you do everything.” ~Zen Master
I had just finished my training as a psychotherapist and was enthusiastic about beginning a career as a family counselor. A key element in my training were my clinical supervisors—one especially whom I admired and valued.
The thought came to me that this person, who was a skilled, insightful, and charismatic therapist, could be doing any kind of work and would still be skilled, insightful, and charismatic. Because that’s who he was, in himself. You could change his training and his work, and he would be the same; whether a business man, a lawyer, a farmer, a social worker, a fireman, or a therapist, he would be skilled, insightful, and charismatic.
Granted, certain kinds of work fit certain kinds of personalities, but, for the most part, how you do anything is how you do everything.
I believe the thought holds true, for the most part, within the lives of us all. How you wash the dishes tells me something about the kind of physician you may be. How you make the bed is how you will practice law. How my accountant keeps his home says something about how he will keep his books. How a woman presents herself to the world tells me something about the quality of her nursing. The way a carpenter treats his tools says much about his work.
Always pay attention to the feel of the office space when you look for a therapist. It has nothing to do with amount of money spent, with sophisticated or common tastes; it has to do with the quality of care.
And the same, of course, is true for me—and you. Do we care? Whether we are making life-altering interventions or performing day-to-day tasks to maintain family life, do we care?
I care. Remember the next time you don't let someone cut in front of you in traffic versus when you do. See how differently you will feel. Or, how you speak and act with your coworkers and what results are yielded. A law of nature always holds true, "you reap what you sow".
Sow some good seeds today.
Have a wonderful day!!!!
Tony Mahon