Greetings Drowning Readers,
I want to take a minute to give a wonderful and uplifting shout out to my Newest of Secret Keepers– Dr. “EJ.” A Fellow Thought Leader, Life Sustaining Kindness Recipient, and Inspirational Powerhouse. And not only that, but a mutual Healthcare Professonal amidst this Ongoing Fight against this Global Pandemic that has robbed so many of us of the Sensation of Normality and Saftey among Millions of people throughout the World who are all still coping in the best ways that they know how.
I told myself that I wanted to cry this morning, as I set off to work for yet another exhausting day at my job at my local nursing home facility. In fact, I prayed to my Higher Power that I would be able to release the built up tension; as long as it wasn’t inside the supply closet, as I had done the week previously. Triggered by many things; but of all else, a very Special resident. One who literally annoyed me to the point of tears. Come on Dr. “EJ!” Don’t deny that you know what I am talking about! Every Healthcare Proffesional has that one Special Person. Whether it is a Resident during Geriatric care, (Which I regret to say, is NOT my Specialty, finding the most fulfillment in Acute Care.) The one person that tests us to our limits of Compassion. The ones that get under your skin and annoys you for one reason or another, whether it is getting annoyed by the sweetest of ladies with Dementia who forget things every ten seconds, reminding them constantly that we Know they are cold. We know they are Wet. We know they are in pain. We know that they want their Narcotics every hour on the hour and we try not to judge them or question their motives. They want to get to bed in the mechanical lift but the Bariatric lift is out of commsion. The ones that ask you to massage their feet because they can’t reach them, or scooch their pebble ice and cranberry juice cocktail two inches closer to them on their table within reach. They use the call light like its a Whack a Mole. The ones who confiscate all of the blankets in the blanket warmer. We secretly feel a little bit guilty about it because we know that we are Supposed to Care for them. We rant about it at the Nurse’s Station. We Talk. We Gossip. We Compare. After all, we are Healthcare Heroes. But the one thing that connects us all is that we are all Human. And we are all prone to make mistakes that are just outside the scope of what we would hope to call Moral, Ethical, or in alignment with many Hospitals around the World who proudly display Pillars of Strength and Codes of conduct that they Strive to Abide by, usually in pairs of six or seven. Compassion. Dignity. Justice. Exellence. Integrity. And on and on they go. What do they mean to you? They ask? How would you implement this code of conduct in real life? Give me an example during the course of the last two years where you demonstrated a problem/solution approach for this difficult patient? You get the idea.
“The only Deceptive Thought that I could errenously Justify in those Seconds of Desperation was this; on the Celabratory Dawn of New and Hopeful Beginnings. It was that I had not Anticipated being Seen; after my mind Betrayed me yet again. I sought isolation. Not because I wanted to. I hate being alone with myself during these times. But more importantly; and through the Sombering Reality of which I am trying Valiantly to Fight; and that defines the Stigmatized Culture of what it means be an Addict, my reaction was Instinctive in nature. Because Despite grappling with the pain of not being seen; knowing that I had tried no less than three times within the hour, was the pain of knowing deep within me that I had not Anticipated being Truly Heard.”
Jenny Miner McCombs- The Addict Empath
When I got home today, I still felt as if I had wanted to cry. I still wanted a release of my tension. But then your Tedx Talk came along in the nick of time, just as Laura Hennings and TIHANE’S has, you Changed the Game for me in that moment. You brought back my sense of humor. You made me laugh when what I thought that what I had wanted was just to curl up, deep within myself and cry. The only humor that I have used lately has been a coping mechanism deeply rooted within me to avoid the pains of my own reality. Finding joy amidst my pain and making purpose of it. Or at least trying to. That is the central and most prominent theme for the Second Book in the “Drowning in Madagascar” Series- Amidst Love’s Deepest Shadow. Your talk did that for me. And if your Talk did that for me at this critical point in my story, just image the impact that the days, the weeks, the months, and the years may bring for you. Book Five in my Series is called, My First Secret Keeper. This book will be a collective montage. A collective tapestry and celebration of life that embraces diversity, culture, and a direct emphasis on what you so poignantly quoted within your own Talk. That “The Strongest Communities Celebrate Uniqueness, and not Conformity.”
“Secret Keeper“
So with that being said, I invite you to seek the same inspiration that I did by watching Dr. Evan’s Inspirational Tedx Talk linked below.
“Step Two. Come to Believe that a Power Greater than ourselve can Restore us to Sanity. But first, you have to be able to Recognize that I feel Insane inside. My Reality is dictated by a Compulsive and a Destructive Internal Narrative that Punishes me Faster and more Effectively than you can. So when you find yourself getting Angry at me for Pushing you away; to seek Solitude in my Instinctual Shame, you will know. And you will come to Understand that in that Moment, you have the Chance to Become my Higher Power. By Giving me Permission to not Punish myself.”
– Jenny Miner McCombs- The Addict Empath
– Given at TedxYouth@SunsetBeach 9/9/2022
Along with my own Tedx Talk Teaser soon to go live, entitled “The Illusion of Accountability; Through the Eyes of an Addict.”
And so I Authentically Thank you, Dr. “EJ.” My Newest of Secret Keepers. And a Book Two and Book Five Dedicatory Recepient. Thank you for making me Laugh tonight. Because we don’t all have to be Doctors to know that Laughter really is the Best Medicine.
Love,
Jenny Miner McCombs- The Addict Empath
Please feel free to click on the provided links below if you are interested in Learning more about the collected works of my Six Book Series, “Drowning in Madagascar.” And to learn just what it means to be one of my Secret Keepers. And just for a Bonus, here is a five minute Teaser into the outline of my next talk on the next Big Red Dot that I hope I am lucky enough to land at TedxSUNYUpstate.
https://drowninginmadagascar.org/this-is-us-my-secret-keepers/
https://drowninginmadagascar.org/hope-in-the-end-gratitude/
Drowning in Madagascar 