The notion of Wholeness is sinking in for me. When I experience a sense of wholeness, I experience a feeling, a knowing, a flow and a sense of light. But what is it?
As I sat in a room full of nurses of all backgrounds and practices, each of us hearing from Jean Watson and learning more about Watson’s Caring Science, I heard one question rising to the top frequently in conversations:
Can I Do This Alone, As One Person In My Organization?
This is the same question that I am exploring in a memoir. I’m trying to resolve, Why didn’t I embody caring science in my nurse leadership practice? I thought I had. Therein lies the mystery.
The larger question is: What does a nurse leader have to have to lead real / authentic caring in an organization?
And my answer is: An Evolving Sense of Wholeness While On The Job
So what is Wholeness?
Wholeness is wrapped up in wellness and healing. Wellness is a dynamic process to achieve a state of well-being. Well-being is the state of integration and balance within our mind-body-spirit-heart. It’s achieving our fullest potential at each moment in positive emotions, fulfillment, meaning, love, relationships and spirituality.
Ahhh, What is healing?
It’s another dynamic process. It can only come from self . Healing is Self-Healing. Healing is an ongoing process of integration of our levels of selves that involve the mind-body-spirit. It is not a religious process. It is a universal notion. It is personal. It is explained in as many ways as there are people. And there is a lot of available information in explaining it and how to pursue it.
A few points that help me get through the clouds:
Life involves a constant becoming. We are programmed to evolve in life. Each of us creates or follows a model of reality. Our models help us make sense of our lives.
The reality model* that resonates with me:
There are 3 selves:
- higher self – yearning to transcend
- conscious self – ego ; this is how and where we learn
- basic self – subconscious ; inner child
We are born with the basic self and the higher self. The conscious self develops in life and dies. Through life, the basic self evolves into the conscious self, the conscious self evolves into the higher self, and the higher self moves on in death.
I believe that the leader who embarks on leading real / authentic caring has to have a sense of evolving wholeness while on the job and beyond. — Because caring science requires the ability to draw from their deep personal wisdom of caring.
So what is the process that delivers this capacity in a nurse leader to lead caring in an organization?
What I observe is that there are as many answers to this as there are nurse leaders who have achieved it in their career.
It’s Personal. But Once The Mystery Starts To Unravel,
It Becomes Simpler With Each Step
Thank you for sharing
Yes, You’re welcome.