By: Noel Jameson
When it comes to Chinese proverbs, Confucius quotes tend to be the most enlightening and entertaining. After all, who can forget words like "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."? That's why we're celebrating his August 27th birthday with 27 famous (and not so famous) Confucius quotes.
1. "Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star."
2. "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do."
3. "The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved."
4. "Have no friends not equal to yourself."
5. "He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."
6. "Ability will never catch up with the demand for it."
7. "An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger."
8. "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."
9. "Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage."
10. "No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance."
11. "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
12. "To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it."
13. "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."
14. "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."
15. "When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."
16. "The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large."
17. "Straightforwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness."
18. "He who will not economize will have to agonize."
19. "Death and life have their determined appointments; riches and honors depend upon heaven."
20. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
21. "When prosperity comes, do not use all of it."
22. "The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them."
23. "Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing."
24. "Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it."
25. "Think no vice so small that you may commit it, and no virtue so small that you may over look it."
26. "The perfecting of one's self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development."
27. "If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people."
The Chinese proverbs spoken by Confucius are a testimony to how wise the man truly was. Few people on earth spoke as many truths as he did. Throughout his life, Confucius spoke hundreds of wise words. These 27 Confucius quotes are just a sampling of them.
For more famous quotes, check out the popular famous quotes section at Famous-Quotes-And-Quotations.com, a website that specializes in 'Top 10' lists of quotations in dozens of categories. http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com/famous-quotations.html
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Socrates Secret
By: Patrick Kavetoa
Socrates was one of the worlds greatest philosophers the worlds ever known. He did something that only a handful of people throughout history have been able to do,and that is to change the whole course of human thought.Centuries after his death he is honoured as one of the wisest persuaders ever to have graced this planet.
His Method?
His whole technique, now called the "Socratic Method" was based upon getting a "YES,YES" response. Asking questions with which his opponent would have to agree,he kept asking questions,winning admission after admission,until finally one finds themselves, embracing a conclusion, that only minutes ago you would have emphatically apposed.
When talking to people,don't begin by discussing the things on which you differ.Rather speak of the things on which you agree.Keep emphasizing the fact that you are both striving for the same thing.The Key Repetition for emphasis! Emphasize that there is only one difference,one of method more than purpose.
Get the person saying Yes Yes....A No response is a very difficult obstacle to overcome,as a "NO", subconsciously tells a person to stay constant.When you say "NO",all your pride of personality demands that you remain consistent with yourself. You after saying no, may feel ill advised,but nevertheless,there is your precious pride to consider.Start a person on the affirmative.Its a very simple technique - this "Yes" response.And yet how much,it is neglected!It often seems as if people get a sense of their own importance by antagonizing others at the outset.
A skillful speaker, from the outset gets a number of "YES" responses. This puts into motion a mindset,a psychological process that has your Listeners moving in the affirmative direction.An illustration of this is,if you were to Propel a ball in one direction, it would take an enormous amount of force to deflect it; in fact far more energy,than when you first started it, on its original path.
All you need to do, is think that when a person says "NO",and really means it,that every molecule every ounce,of their being, gathers together into a condition of rejection.When to the contrary, a person says "YES",has none of the withdrawal activities take place.
The next time we are tempted to tell someone that they are wrong, try the subtle art of "Socrates Method",asking gentle questions that encourage "Yes" responses. I believe its the Chinese that say it Best, in a wise old proverb saying,"He who treads softly will go far"
PRINCIPLE #4Get the other person saying "Yes,Yes" immediately
Patric Kavetoa helps and mentors those looking to makemoneyonline with digital products.Start your own online business at http://www.the22ndfloor.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Socrates was one of the worlds greatest philosophers the worlds ever known. He did something that only a handful of people throughout history have been able to do,and that is to change the whole course of human thought.Centuries after his death he is honoured as one of the wisest persuaders ever to have graced this planet.
His Method?
His whole technique, now called the "Socratic Method" was based upon getting a "YES,YES" response. Asking questions with which his opponent would have to agree,he kept asking questions,winning admission after admission,until finally one finds themselves, embracing a conclusion, that only minutes ago you would have emphatically apposed.
When talking to people,don't begin by discussing the things on which you differ.Rather speak of the things on which you agree.Keep emphasizing the fact that you are both striving for the same thing.The Key Repetition for emphasis! Emphasize that there is only one difference,one of method more than purpose.
Get the person saying Yes Yes....A No response is a very difficult obstacle to overcome,as a "NO", subconsciously tells a person to stay constant.When you say "NO",all your pride of personality demands that you remain consistent with yourself. You after saying no, may feel ill advised,but nevertheless,there is your precious pride to consider.Start a person on the affirmative.Its a very simple technique - this "Yes" response.And yet how much,it is neglected!It often seems as if people get a sense of their own importance by antagonizing others at the outset.
A skillful speaker, from the outset gets a number of "YES" responses. This puts into motion a mindset,a psychological process that has your Listeners moving in the affirmative direction.An illustration of this is,if you were to Propel a ball in one direction, it would take an enormous amount of force to deflect it; in fact far more energy,than when you first started it, on its original path.
All you need to do, is think that when a person says "NO",and really means it,that every molecule every ounce,of their being, gathers together into a condition of rejection.When to the contrary, a person says "YES",has none of the withdrawal activities take place.
The next time we are tempted to tell someone that they are wrong, try the subtle art of "Socrates Method",asking gentle questions that encourage "Yes" responses. I believe its the Chinese that say it Best, in a wise old proverb saying,"He who treads softly will go far"
PRINCIPLE #4Get the other person saying "Yes,Yes" immediately
Patric Kavetoa helps and mentors those looking to makemoneyonline with digital products.Start your own online business at http://www.the22ndfloor.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Ethics and Morality: Comparing Moral Values and Ethics
By: Brian Orchard
We are shaped to a large extent by our cultural setting, whose moral values imprint themselves on our minds in ways most of us are unaware of. Music, movies and television all carry value-laden messages that bombard us daily. Over time, these messages can subtly develop within us a new worldview. These cultural values become accepted as more mature than previous values, especially by the young, and govern how we see the world. The result, inevitably it seems, is a generational divide.
Expressing nostalgia for the values of days gone by is common to an older generation. We hear and read about the need to return to moral values of previous times without, in many cases, any clear definition of what those values might be. In reaction to change, older people often simply declare that things used to be better.
But is it really a question of whose values are correct? Indeed, do any values represent a correct standard, or are values of themselves relative? If so, should we accept that they can and will differ from one generation to the next?
The nature of the generational differences is in the way we view values themselves. The word value can have a broad range of meaning; in a cultural sense it refers to a principle, standard or quality. A desire to return to past values generally means a return to principles and standards held by society and culture at large in previous decades. However, another meaning of value that needs to be considered is "the desirability or worth of a thing." If this meaning is applied to cultural values, then we introduce a moving target, because such a definition implies variation over time.
The perceived value of something differs from person to person and may reasonably change. For example, do we really want to return to the days of men wearing three-piece suits to baseball games? Would it be better if women still wore girdles and white gloves when they left the house? It would be ludicrous to think in these terms to find solutions to generational differences today. But here is the catch: While certain values cannot be replicated today, the principles, standards and qualities they reflect may well be desirable and downright helpful to a younger generation. How can we improve our principles and standards without all the baggage that can come with trying to recapture the moral values of a previous time?
Author Jeremy Rifkin describes the problem in his book The Age of Access: "The world . . . has become a human construct. . . . This new world is not objective but rather contingent, not made up of truths, but rather options and scenarios. Reality, it seems, is not something bequeathed to us but rather something we create. . . ."
James Davison Hunter says it quite plainly in his book The Death of Character: "Values are truths that have been deprived of their commanding character."
To address issues in terms of moral values makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the generations to be drawn together on common ground. Successive generations have created their own values as cultural influences have progressively emphasized the importance of self.
Perhaps a change of focus would be helpful. Instead of addressing values, which are relative, why not think in terms of ethics? Ethics refers to principles of right and wrong, especially in relation to specific moral choices that affect others. Right and wrong become anchor points that keep us from being drawn in by the relativity of values.
Of course, this necessitates some clear and indisputable definitions of right and wrong. The standard for moral choices in regard to relationships with others was written a long time ago. In short, the Creator of human life simply states that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Specifics explaining how to do that are supplied in summary form within the Ten Commandments.
Ethics based on these principles provide a basis for defining right and wrong. From these, each generation can enjoy individual development and progress, but the commonality of these principles allows successive generations to share them as well.
How much happier would relationships be if we were prepared to question the evolving cultural values that have shaped us and to accept a common set of ethical standards? Ethics that transcend humanly devised morality benefit people of all ages simultaneously.
Nostalgia for days gone by might lessen if young and old could enjoy their differences because of shared underlying principles of right and wrong.
Author, Brian Orchard, writes articles on current events and ideology for Vision Media. More information about these and other current events and ideology topics can be found at http://www.vision.org.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
We are shaped to a large extent by our cultural setting, whose moral values imprint themselves on our minds in ways most of us are unaware of. Music, movies and television all carry value-laden messages that bombard us daily. Over time, these messages can subtly develop within us a new worldview. These cultural values become accepted as more mature than previous values, especially by the young, and govern how we see the world. The result, inevitably it seems, is a generational divide.
Expressing nostalgia for the values of days gone by is common to an older generation. We hear and read about the need to return to moral values of previous times without, in many cases, any clear definition of what those values might be. In reaction to change, older people often simply declare that things used to be better.
But is it really a question of whose values are correct? Indeed, do any values represent a correct standard, or are values of themselves relative? If so, should we accept that they can and will differ from one generation to the next?
The nature of the generational differences is in the way we view values themselves. The word value can have a broad range of meaning; in a cultural sense it refers to a principle, standard or quality. A desire to return to past values generally means a return to principles and standards held by society and culture at large in previous decades. However, another meaning of value that needs to be considered is "the desirability or worth of a thing." If this meaning is applied to cultural values, then we introduce a moving target, because such a definition implies variation over time.
The perceived value of something differs from person to person and may reasonably change. For example, do we really want to return to the days of men wearing three-piece suits to baseball games? Would it be better if women still wore girdles and white gloves when they left the house? It would be ludicrous to think in these terms to find solutions to generational differences today. But here is the catch: While certain values cannot be replicated today, the principles, standards and qualities they reflect may well be desirable and downright helpful to a younger generation. How can we improve our principles and standards without all the baggage that can come with trying to recapture the moral values of a previous time?
Author Jeremy Rifkin describes the problem in his book The Age of Access: "The world . . . has become a human construct. . . . This new world is not objective but rather contingent, not made up of truths, but rather options and scenarios. Reality, it seems, is not something bequeathed to us but rather something we create. . . ."
James Davison Hunter says it quite plainly in his book The Death of Character: "Values are truths that have been deprived of their commanding character."
To address issues in terms of moral values makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the generations to be drawn together on common ground. Successive generations have created their own values as cultural influences have progressively emphasized the importance of self.
Perhaps a change of focus would be helpful. Instead of addressing values, which are relative, why not think in terms of ethics? Ethics refers to principles of right and wrong, especially in relation to specific moral choices that affect others. Right and wrong become anchor points that keep us from being drawn in by the relativity of values.
Of course, this necessitates some clear and indisputable definitions of right and wrong. The standard for moral choices in regard to relationships with others was written a long time ago. In short, the Creator of human life simply states that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Specifics explaining how to do that are supplied in summary form within the Ten Commandments.
Ethics based on these principles provide a basis for defining right and wrong. From these, each generation can enjoy individual development and progress, but the commonality of these principles allows successive generations to share them as well.
How much happier would relationships be if we were prepared to question the evolving cultural values that have shaped us and to accept a common set of ethical standards? Ethics that transcend humanly devised morality benefit people of all ages simultaneously.
Nostalgia for days gone by might lessen if young and old could enjoy their differences because of shared underlying principles of right and wrong.
Author, Brian Orchard, writes articles on current events and ideology for Vision Media. More information about these and other current events and ideology topics can be found at http://www.vision.org.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
The Power of Ethical Wills
By: Robin Watts
Using Words That Heal
The document he held in his hand read like a lawyer had charged him for more than time and effort. It was the beginning of healing and such benefits would be priceless. Ethical wishes made their way into the legal swamp of bequeathing and here-to-fore's. His worldly possessions, though few, were distributed according to his wishes. With caution and inner searching, words of "why" certain choices and decisions were made were clarified. A man's last will and testament also became his ethical will by injecting small doses of his reasons for certain decisions. He was healed of an infection that had rendered him angry prior to releasing his frustration in a document that would be witnessed and acknowledged after his death.
Ethical wills take many forms yet can be the conduit to resolution and completion in our lives and the lives of our patients.
Patients and families come to hospice when the end is usually much nearer than the six month allotment of supposed time and therefore ethical wills are rarely addressed.
Nurses are in critical mode, hurriedly addressing pain and symptoms in an effort to begin working to alleviate emotional pain. Social workers are ecstatic to have actual counseling time but are most likely struggling to make the initial visit or complete the loose ends of other advanced directives and wishes not yet addressed.
The chaplain and volunteers are often requested to not visit until the need is anything but writing an ethical will. The spiritual pain is often lost in silence and never gains ground in being expressed to family and friends.
What is an ethical will? Of biblical origin, the ethical will was once an assignment of blessings and statements from the elder fathers to their sons. Today we see these wills in a disguise of journaling and personal notes.
There is no appropriate or designated format for this type of will. The contents are magical in their powers to heal and the magic is not formed in following specific criteria for form. There can always be healing - even when experiencing the end of life.
A piece of paper, a notebook, or a beautiful handmade leather journal may all serve the same purpose. The words are written to explain the reason for choices made, the expectations of life and family, ideas, forgiveness, explanations.
No formal will and testament gives an ear to the discomforts of the soul, except the ethical will. As an agency or an individual, you can begin the healing of your patients by encouraging the documentation of those thoughts and feelings that have surfaced with the intrusion of death.
The ethical will may take the form of a terminally ill mother writing her blessings and wishes in a journal to leave for her daughter, a young man who wants his siblings to understand his heart and the reasons for actions he has taken as the obstacle of death stands fast in his way, or the couple who have no one but each other that leaves their legacy of love in writing for someone to acknowledge or witness.
It has been said that all any of us really need are witnesses. We need a witness that our life holds great meaning and purpose; a witness that we have loved and are loved; a witness to our life. As members of the hospice community or any health care programs it is an honor to be the witness that our patients need in this new realm of spiritual discovery.
If it is a hospice patient or ourselves contemplating the presentation of an ethical will, some tried and true tips will help move the words from heart to hand to paper with the impact and magic that the compilation evokes.
1. Just start writing.
I often suggest that in writing our life stories it is best to just designate a few minutes daily to writing anything. Let the words flow and then bring them together like a soup. All the ingredients are gathered and the final product is savored given that the brew has time to cook. Unlike the life story journals, the final product should be a stepping-stone to resolution of an incomplete section of our journey. The finality is certain but the journey is not. Make the steps toward completion of information an adventure in discovering the deepest thoughts that have anchored our intentions and actions.
2. Find stillness.
Absolute quiet and serenity will help thoughts bubble up and dissipate. The remaining pieces are slow to rise but will as we practice stillness. Those remnants of thought that do not disappear are the ones to address and to nurture. These are the engines that have given us motivation and fear, desire and dread, dreams and complacency. When we discover or our patients discover these remnants, the dissection of their meaning bring serenity and power.
3. Be grateful, find moments of happiness, question why and then document the
discovery and understanding. These are emotions developed into words that will be read by future generations or possibly by only one person. The moment we arrive at our reasons for being, we become our own witness.
The ethical will is the ultimate instrument for eternal wellness. As the master of the tool we hold the ability to assist others on their journey. It is a marvel that words hold such keys to power and that a moment of guiding others to learn to use this tool helps our own healing powers develop. Of all the medicines, words from the soul may be the most potent.
Robin Watts is a hospice care consultant with Regency Hospice located in the serene mountain vistas of Northeast Georgia. Her blog posts and Internet talk shows may be found on her website at Using Words That Heal
The document he held in his hand read like a lawyer had charged him for more than time and effort. It was the beginning of healing and such benefits would be priceless. Ethical wishes made their way into the legal swamp of bequeathing and here-to-fore's. His worldly possessions, though few, were distributed according to his wishes. With caution and inner searching, words of "why" certain choices and decisions were made were clarified. A man's last will and testament also became his ethical will by injecting small doses of his reasons for certain decisions. He was healed of an infection that had rendered him angry prior to releasing his frustration in a document that would be witnessed and acknowledged after his death.
Ethical wills take many forms yet can be the conduit to resolution and completion in our lives and the lives of our patients.
Patients and families come to hospice when the end is usually much nearer than the six month allotment of supposed time and therefore ethical wills are rarely addressed.
Nurses are in critical mode, hurriedly addressing pain and symptoms in an effort to begin working to alleviate emotional pain. Social workers are ecstatic to have actual counseling time but are most likely struggling to make the initial visit or complete the loose ends of other advanced directives and wishes not yet addressed.
The chaplain and volunteers are often requested to not visit until the need is anything but writing an ethical will. The spiritual pain is often lost in silence and never gains ground in being expressed to family and friends.
What is an ethical will? Of biblical origin, the ethical will was once an assignment of blessings and statements from the elder fathers to their sons. Today we see these wills in a disguise of journaling and personal notes.
There is no appropriate or designated format for this type of will. The contents are magical in their powers to heal and the magic is not formed in following specific criteria for form. There can always be healing - even when experiencing the end of life.
A piece of paper, a notebook, or a beautiful handmade leather journal may all serve the same purpose. The words are written to explain the reason for choices made, the expectations of life and family, ideas, forgiveness, explanations.
No formal will and testament gives an ear to the discomforts of the soul, except the ethical will. As an agency or an individual, you can begin the healing of your patients by encouraging the documentation of those thoughts and feelings that have surfaced with the intrusion of death.
The ethical will may take the form of a terminally ill mother writing her blessings and wishes in a journal to leave for her daughter, a young man who wants his siblings to understand his heart and the reasons for actions he has taken as the obstacle of death stands fast in his way, or the couple who have no one but each other that leaves their legacy of love in writing for someone to acknowledge or witness.
It has been said that all any of us really need are witnesses. We need a witness that our life holds great meaning and purpose; a witness that we have loved and are loved; a witness to our life. As members of the hospice community or any health care programs it is an honor to be the witness that our patients need in this new realm of spiritual discovery.
If it is a hospice patient or ourselves contemplating the presentation of an ethical will, some tried and true tips will help move the words from heart to hand to paper with the impact and magic that the compilation evokes.
1. Just start writing.
I often suggest that in writing our life stories it is best to just designate a few minutes daily to writing anything. Let the words flow and then bring them together like a soup. All the ingredients are gathered and the final product is savored given that the brew has time to cook. Unlike the life story journals, the final product should be a stepping-stone to resolution of an incomplete section of our journey. The finality is certain but the journey is not. Make the steps toward completion of information an adventure in discovering the deepest thoughts that have anchored our intentions and actions.
2. Find stillness.
Absolute quiet and serenity will help thoughts bubble up and dissipate. The remaining pieces are slow to rise but will as we practice stillness. Those remnants of thought that do not disappear are the ones to address and to nurture. These are the engines that have given us motivation and fear, desire and dread, dreams and complacency. When we discover or our patients discover these remnants, the dissection of their meaning bring serenity and power.
3. Be grateful, find moments of happiness, question why and then document the
discovery and understanding. These are emotions developed into words that will be read by future generations or possibly by only one person. The moment we arrive at our reasons for being, we become our own witness.
The ethical will is the ultimate instrument for eternal wellness. As the master of the tool we hold the ability to assist others on their journey. It is a marvel that words hold such keys to power and that a moment of guiding others to learn to use this tool helps our own healing powers develop. Of all the medicines, words from the soul may be the most potent.
Robin Watts is a hospice care consultant with Regency Hospice located in the serene mountain vistas of Northeast Georgia. Her blog posts and Internet talk shows may be found on her website at http://robinwatts.com/default.aspx
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Using Words That Heal
The document he held in his hand read like a lawyer had charged him for more than time and effort. It was the beginning of healing and such benefits would be priceless. Ethical wishes made their way into the legal swamp of bequeathing and here-to-fore's. His worldly possessions, though few, were distributed according to his wishes. With caution and inner searching, words of "why" certain choices and decisions were made were clarified. A man's last will and testament also became his ethical will by injecting small doses of his reasons for certain decisions. He was healed of an infection that had rendered him angry prior to releasing his frustration in a document that would be witnessed and acknowledged after his death.
Ethical wills take many forms yet can be the conduit to resolution and completion in our lives and the lives of our patients.
Patients and families come to hospice when the end is usually much nearer than the six month allotment of supposed time and therefore ethical wills are rarely addressed.
Nurses are in critical mode, hurriedly addressing pain and symptoms in an effort to begin working to alleviate emotional pain. Social workers are ecstatic to have actual counseling time but are most likely struggling to make the initial visit or complete the loose ends of other advanced directives and wishes not yet addressed.
The chaplain and volunteers are often requested to not visit until the need is anything but writing an ethical will. The spiritual pain is often lost in silence and never gains ground in being expressed to family and friends.
What is an ethical will? Of biblical origin, the ethical will was once an assignment of blessings and statements from the elder fathers to their sons. Today we see these wills in a disguise of journaling and personal notes.
There is no appropriate or designated format for this type of will. The contents are magical in their powers to heal and the magic is not formed in following specific criteria for form. There can always be healing - even when experiencing the end of life.
A piece of paper, a notebook, or a beautiful handmade leather journal may all serve the same purpose. The words are written to explain the reason for choices made, the expectations of life and family, ideas, forgiveness, explanations.
No formal will and testament gives an ear to the discomforts of the soul, except the ethical will. As an agency or an individual, you can begin the healing of your patients by encouraging the documentation of those thoughts and feelings that have surfaced with the intrusion of death.
The ethical will may take the form of a terminally ill mother writing her blessings and wishes in a journal to leave for her daughter, a young man who wants his siblings to understand his heart and the reasons for actions he has taken as the obstacle of death stands fast in his way, or the couple who have no one but each other that leaves their legacy of love in writing for someone to acknowledge or witness.
It has been said that all any of us really need are witnesses. We need a witness that our life holds great meaning and purpose; a witness that we have loved and are loved; a witness to our life. As members of the hospice community or any health care programs it is an honor to be the witness that our patients need in this new realm of spiritual discovery.
If it is a hospice patient or ourselves contemplating the presentation of an ethical will, some tried and true tips will help move the words from heart to hand to paper with the impact and magic that the compilation evokes.
1. Just start writing.
I often suggest that in writing our life stories it is best to just designate a few minutes daily to writing anything. Let the words flow and then bring them together like a soup. All the ingredients are gathered and the final product is savored given that the brew has time to cook. Unlike the life story journals, the final product should be a stepping-stone to resolution of an incomplete section of our journey. The finality is certain but the journey is not. Make the steps toward completion of information an adventure in discovering the deepest thoughts that have anchored our intentions and actions.
2. Find stillness.
Absolute quiet and serenity will help thoughts bubble up and dissipate. The remaining pieces are slow to rise but will as we practice stillness. Those remnants of thought that do not disappear are the ones to address and to nurture. These are the engines that have given us motivation and fear, desire and dread, dreams and complacency. When we discover or our patients discover these remnants, the dissection of their meaning bring serenity and power.
3. Be grateful, find moments of happiness, question why and then document the
discovery and understanding. These are emotions developed into words that will be read by future generations or possibly by only one person. The moment we arrive at our reasons for being, we become our own witness.
The ethical will is the ultimate instrument for eternal wellness. As the master of the tool we hold the ability to assist others on their journey. It is a marvel that words hold such keys to power and that a moment of guiding others to learn to use this tool helps our own healing powers develop. Of all the medicines, words from the soul may be the most potent.
Robin Watts is a hospice care consultant with Regency Hospice located in the serene mountain vistas of Northeast Georgia. Her blog posts and Internet talk shows may be found on her website at Using Words That Heal
The document he held in his hand read like a lawyer had charged him for more than time and effort. It was the beginning of healing and such benefits would be priceless. Ethical wishes made their way into the legal swamp of bequeathing and here-to-fore's. His worldly possessions, though few, were distributed according to his wishes. With caution and inner searching, words of "why" certain choices and decisions were made were clarified. A man's last will and testament also became his ethical will by injecting small doses of his reasons for certain decisions. He was healed of an infection that had rendered him angry prior to releasing his frustration in a document that would be witnessed and acknowledged after his death.
Ethical wills take many forms yet can be the conduit to resolution and completion in our lives and the lives of our patients.
Patients and families come to hospice when the end is usually much nearer than the six month allotment of supposed time and therefore ethical wills are rarely addressed.
Nurses are in critical mode, hurriedly addressing pain and symptoms in an effort to begin working to alleviate emotional pain. Social workers are ecstatic to have actual counseling time but are most likely struggling to make the initial visit or complete the loose ends of other advanced directives and wishes not yet addressed.
The chaplain and volunteers are often requested to not visit until the need is anything but writing an ethical will. The spiritual pain is often lost in silence and never gains ground in being expressed to family and friends.
What is an ethical will? Of biblical origin, the ethical will was once an assignment of blessings and statements from the elder fathers to their sons. Today we see these wills in a disguise of journaling and personal notes.
There is no appropriate or designated format for this type of will. The contents are magical in their powers to heal and the magic is not formed in following specific criteria for form. There can always be healing - even when experiencing the end of life.
A piece of paper, a notebook, or a beautiful handmade leather journal may all serve the same purpose. The words are written to explain the reason for choices made, the expectations of life and family, ideas, forgiveness, explanations.
No formal will and testament gives an ear to the discomforts of the soul, except the ethical will. As an agency or an individual, you can begin the healing of your patients by encouraging the documentation of those thoughts and feelings that have surfaced with the intrusion of death.
The ethical will may take the form of a terminally ill mother writing her blessings and wishes in a journal to leave for her daughter, a young man who wants his siblings to understand his heart and the reasons for actions he has taken as the obstacle of death stands fast in his way, or the couple who have no one but each other that leaves their legacy of love in writing for someone to acknowledge or witness.
It has been said that all any of us really need are witnesses. We need a witness that our life holds great meaning and purpose; a witness that we have loved and are loved; a witness to our life. As members of the hospice community or any health care programs it is an honor to be the witness that our patients need in this new realm of spiritual discovery.
If it is a hospice patient or ourselves contemplating the presentation of an ethical will, some tried and true tips will help move the words from heart to hand to paper with the impact and magic that the compilation evokes.
1. Just start writing.
I often suggest that in writing our life stories it is best to just designate a few minutes daily to writing anything. Let the words flow and then bring them together like a soup. All the ingredients are gathered and the final product is savored given that the brew has time to cook. Unlike the life story journals, the final product should be a stepping-stone to resolution of an incomplete section of our journey. The finality is certain but the journey is not. Make the steps toward completion of information an adventure in discovering the deepest thoughts that have anchored our intentions and actions.
2. Find stillness.
Absolute quiet and serenity will help thoughts bubble up and dissipate. The remaining pieces are slow to rise but will as we practice stillness. Those remnants of thought that do not disappear are the ones to address and to nurture. These are the engines that have given us motivation and fear, desire and dread, dreams and complacency. When we discover or our patients discover these remnants, the dissection of their meaning bring serenity and power.
3. Be grateful, find moments of happiness, question why and then document the
discovery and understanding. These are emotions developed into words that will be read by future generations or possibly by only one person. The moment we arrive at our reasons for being, we become our own witness.
The ethical will is the ultimate instrument for eternal wellness. As the master of the tool we hold the ability to assist others on their journey. It is a marvel that words hold such keys to power and that a moment of guiding others to learn to use this tool helps our own healing powers develop. Of all the medicines, words from the soul may be the most potent.
Robin Watts is a hospice care consultant with Regency Hospice located in the serene mountain vistas of Northeast Georgia. Her blog posts and Internet talk shows may be found on her website at http://robinwatts.com/default.aspx
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