See One Another

 Each person is as unique as the rocks that form the mighty mountains. We cannot know the place each rock has or it's purpose, but when we step back and see the bigger picture we can see how each tiny stone has it's unique place and the beauty that it produces when united together.

What does it mean to truly "see" someone?

To walk alongside them as they experience the joys and pain of life?

How can we more fully engage with one another? 

These are some heavy questions that have been on my heart and mind over the past few weeks, not just within my own nursing practice, but actually with my interactions among colleagues and friends as well.

This is what has lead me to thinking a bit deeper about what it looks like to truly see and care for individuals and to personalise care. There is never a clear-cut "one size fits all" approach to engaging with people. I believe that this is exactly as it should be. Personally I believe that the moment we begin to generalise and follow a set standard for ALL, we lose sight of the individual.

I will be honest with you that when you are working with a population that does not speak your language it can be easy to focus only on the "need" and not the person behind the need. Particularly when working in a specific area such as nursing, it is easy to focus solely on the task at hand. This is, of course, a challenge in all areas of nursing, but I believe it is even more prominent if you are working in a country where there is a major language barrier. It is easy to just "get on with it" and do the job you are tasked to do.

I noticed this after the first week or two and decided to make an effort to truly "see" and engage with each person on a deeper level - talking with them through the interpreter about daily activities and things they enjoyed, about their preferences and things that were unique to them, rather than just about topics directly related to their wounds/needs. WOW, what a difference it has made! It obviously takes a lot more time, and a lot more effort on the part of the interpreter, but I have found that for all involved the experience is so much richer.

This, of course, also applies to other relationships as well. I feel that often times our relationships consist of casual greetings and superficial engagement and it is rare these days that people really stop and take the time to dig deeper. Most people are left on the fringe feeling unseen, unheard, and not cared for. Conversations are often limited to very basic niceties and rarely ask the hard/deep questions that require true engagement.

My challenge to you is - Go deeper. Ask more questions. Seek to truly see and relate to those around you. It may be just in that moment where you reach out to someone that they feel for the first time in their life that someone truly sees them!!

"See one another" ~ Namaste