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Fast forward 4 yrs, 2 months

I've been caught up in the process of establishing a practice, of working with our amazing medicine and gaining an appreciation for its wisdom and depth.

Since my last missive, a few events have transpired:

1. I graduated from school, navigated the gauntlet of board exams, and became fully licensed and credentialed. And insured. (very important...)

2. I have established a private practice for family and friends only, and have worked in two clinics - one in Albuquerque, one in Bosque Farms.

3. For a time I was working in both the Albuquerque and Bosque Farms clinics;  I've now settled in the Bosque Farms location.

The journey from graduating, credentialing, etc., to now, well it's been intense. And enlightening. And vexing, at times.

Turns out full time patient care requires many skills, as we'd expect, and also the ability to distance onself from the patient and the outcome in order to remain objective, and, presumably, effective.

The art of practicing an ancient and effective medicine in a Western setting has its moments, but mostly, and daily, I have developed an appreciation for the ability of the human body to, when urged, balance and right itself.

I've abandoned the perfectionism that has plagued me my entire life for an appreciation and cultivation of 'new normal', the destination that many patients achieve in spite of chronic pain, suffering, trauma, etc. New normal is where better happens, where improvement is enjoyed, where self-awareness is enhanced.

Setting appropriate expectations, encouraging and facilitating healing without becoming too entangled in the individual process, and understanding the business side of health care are among the activities that characterize my days and weeks and months, now.

I worry.  I worry about making a living, about being the best practitioner I can be, about practicing the medicine in the spirit in which it was intended. I have learned to abandon the fear that accompanies the worry, and to suspend that in favor of adopting a perspective of abundance in all things.

Never before have I applied my spiritual beliefs within my profession, but now seems like the perfect time to blend the two. They're never separate, but declaring them bound feels right at this juncture.

Every day presents challenges, successes, and an opportunity to support human beings as they navigate their health journeys and reach for their individual goals.

I wouldn't be anywhere else, doing anything other than applying the beautiful medicine I've learned. I am, for the first time in my professional life, happy.  Really happy.  And I am going to develop that feeling and deepen my knowledge of this medicine until I am unable to capably perform each day.

And then, knowing me, I'll probably write about it all.



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