What’s Good about Our Health Care System?

It’s easy to be critical of health care professionals. The pedestal of “life saver” that their position represents makes them vulnerable to public criticism, as well as to personal boasting. Although I’ve avoided going to hospitals and doctors until absolutely necessary, I have often been surprised by the attentive, loving individuals who have come to my aid in times of extreme need. It makes me realize that the vast majority of health care professionals in this country are inspired by a caring interest in serving the needs of others. They appreciate the opportunity to respond to real needs of individuals who come to them in vulnerable circumstances.

It also seems apparent that most individuals facing debilitating symptoms are open for guidance and help to relieve their distress. We may not like it when something is “wrong,” and we may resent that we need to ask for help, but when we finally recognize that something is needed, we have the option to look for good advice and care.

While every health care technique, method and medicine has helped someone somewhere, it is also true that every health care technique, method and medicine has hurt someone. They may be useful in the relief of symptoms and perhaps they support healing to occur, but techniques, methods and medicine are not the underlying healing force.

What is the Universal Healing Solvent common to all healing?

Love & Intelligence. Love is the quality of being where the primary orientation is toward understanding and intelligence is the open-minded attention that listens, observes, and recognizes the right idea when it appears. The orientation toward these qualities of consciousness in both the caregiver and the receiver allows healing to occur.

It seems self-evident that when the primary orientation of individuals is toward understanding the presenting issue, and seeking intelligent solutions to problems, the better the solutions, the better the system, the better the living. It also seems evident that most individuals go in and out of this orientation.

What Interferes with Good Health Care?

Caregivers have been trained with the idea that they need to “fix” whatever complaint is presented to them. This approach is also at the basis of how health care is rewarded. They get paid to “fix.” Therefore, the faster they fix something, and the more “fixes” accomplished, the more rewards received. This is an unhealthy system as it does not encourage or reward in a practical way the use of Love-Intelligence.

There is a tendency to look for a system that does not need individual consciousness – a mechanism that “anyone” can apply: a “pill” or “procedure” for instance. Yet, loving consciousness is the source of and solution to our problems and there is no way around that. Tools and techniques, when seen as an extension of intelligence and love can be immensely useful and valuable.

Patients are afflicted with the idea that someone needs to do something to make them better and take away their pain. This idea robs the patient of their capacity to discern between potential treatments for themselves and often blinds them from learning and growing from whatever disease they are experiencing.

A Solution?

As we accept the idea that health and healing require a context of love, intelligence and attention, our health systems will reorganize in healthier ways. While this may be a long arc for the whole health care system, individuals can see the wisdom of this idea immediately. Love-Intelligence does not need a prescription. It helps to know that it is available to any receptive consciousness no matter how challenging the circumstances.

MetaView asks the question: What is Health?

The road to creating good National Health Care may well begin with first answering this question.  There has been much confusion, conflict, money, airtime and fear surrounding the debate on national health care reform and this has a meaning.

Clearly this means that we are confused about the fundamental nature of the problem we are attempting to solve. 

The basic questions of health care reform depend upon a valid understanding of health: what is it, how does it happen, how is it lost.  If we have a clear idea about what health is, then we will know how to support it.

The first challenge in answering this question is that the answer may not be instantaneous.

I can hear someone saying: “Yes, this is a great question, but I don’t have time to answer it now, as I’m in too much pain and I just want relief.”

This is the attitude that is often reflected in the current approach to health care reform.

It reminds me of a recent conversation with someone in a whirlwind of “to do” tasks saying: “Once I’m done with these tasks I’ll be able to relax.”  She even laughed upon hearing herself say this, as she recognized the fallacy of ever being done with “what needs to get done.”

So, engaging with the question: “What is Health?” means first of all, to consider this question as we face the health care crisis as consumer, leader, provider or decision-maker. This does not require us to stop the activity of reforming health care, but if we include this question in our inquiries, new useful ideas and directions may emerge to help us find the right answers.

What is Poverty?

When Peter LeJacq, Maryknoll Missionary doctor to the poor and ill in Africa was asked: “What motivated you to give up a comfortable, middleclass lifestyle here in New York to live poor in Africa?” he answered: “I’m not poor. I may not have material things in my life, but I’ll never be poor. I have an education and I have self-esteem. The poor that I serve in Africa and in other places around the world have neither and they suffer.”Go to Video Interview In business circles it is said: “My bank account may be empty, but I’m not broke.” This is an important distinction between the amount of a current material commodity, and the unlimited resource of who we are.

Father Peter points out that poverty is not about a lack of material things, it is about a lack of accessibility to the internal resources that are possible. Without being educated with the idea that it is possible for an individual to learn, reason, see the larger perspective, communicate ideas and be inspired, there is hopelessness. These capacities, while available to all, need to be encouraged, uncovered, mentored and realized in every individual.

With all the fear generated around the loss of money and the loss of jobs in the current economic climate, it’s valuable to remember the resources that cannot be lost: intelligence, clarity, attentiveness, integrity. These qualities cannot be bought or sold and they cannot be downsized. Although we have noticed that they can be ignored, even by the most educated of us!

When recognized and valued, it’s these internal resources that allow us to become aware of good ideas, solutions and the recognition of opportunities. This is our real wealth, both individually and collectively. It is the application of these qualities by individuals in both small and large situations that will turn around this economic crisis. Without these, no matter how much money is poured into the problem, our economy will remain “poor” and “broken.”

When overwhelmed with fearfulness that often prevails when money and/or a job is seen as the main resource of life, we lose awareness of our internal resources and we become unavailable to good ideas, solutions and opportunities already present. We stop being attentive to the tasks at hand and dwell in the land of worried distraction.

All that can result from a fearful state is more fear. This is the poverty of consciousness. We become focused not on the issues, but on “poor me." “Something bad is happening to me!" “Who is going to help me?" “Who is to blame?"

When there is awareness of the unlimited resourcefulness of our being we focus on the issues: “What is happening? What is needed? What is the intelligent, loving, honest response?”

Often the most honest response when job, money, health, or other is lost, is to recognize that we don’t know what to do – So the intelligent response is to take internal action – be still, know that “not knowing” is the beginning of wisdom. Your internal resources will begin to show up when given room. This is wealth. What happens with this awareness is a broader, more enlightened perspective of the situation and with this come inspired ideas.