This week marks the 13th anniversary of my first McKenzie course. I would bet that your first thought would be "why remember something so seemingly trivial - it was just a course"! But in our lives, we remember moments in time that shaped us and our perspective on the world. That four days in February 1994 was one such weekend.

What made it so? In the span of four days I was presented with a large volume of research - that contradicted much of what I'd been taught in school. This was, at first, unsettling - but the "scientist" in me decided that you can't simply discount the literature and that if it was all about "being a better PT" then I better sit down and do some homework to understand how all these issues fit together. It pushed my "comfort zone" ... and started me down a path that changed not only my career but my personal life perspective as well. 

 

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Creativity.

Inspiration.

Two things that you need to latch on to when they appear at your doorstep. Trust me on this one.

They can pass you by quickly, on stealth mode in your daily grind. It's easy to lose sight of them, or to barely recognize that they are in your presence. But if you stay open to the world around you, stay quiet deep within, you will hear them - and when you do, you must seize them, seize the moment, free your mind, know the flow, sense it, revel in it, submit to it ... and hope that life hasn't passed you by in the meantime.

Sure, easy for you to say.

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Within the past few weeks, I've found myself reflecting upon the health "care" system as we know it now. Having been within the physical therapy profession for almost two decades, I've seen trends come and go, and I have watched some things remain (curiously) stagnant. Buzzwords are here and gone, and the cost of health care is skyrocketing nonetheless.

So here's an idea I was pondering recently. It has to do with the payment of services in the medical and healthcare realm. My idea may at first seem unorthodox - and I am certain it will make a lot of people angry - very angry.

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Sometimes the simplest moments, the simplest words, can have the greatest meaning.

And sometimes - you realize that perhaps your words have more impact than you ever thought possible.

I've always believed in being true to myself - or certainly striving to live to that standard. In the midst of all that, as a person and as a professional, as a friend and as a mentor, I've tried to simply lead by example. To me, it's been about maintaining my integrity, my beliefs ... and expressing them succinctly along the way.

In recent days, I've discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) some aspects of my thought processes that I've not seen since college days. No, that doesn't mean reverting back to the "actions" of college life (not that I'd survive that nowadays anyways!). It means having a firm reawakening of those philosophical (and perhaps modestly idealistic) beliefs that found flight in the collegiate environment. It was a time of creativity, of strong beliefs, of being passionate about those beliefs, and perhaps even espousing them in whatever way possible.

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