Return To Health (Pando Health Groups)

Grace and I had the good fortune to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this past weekend for our friends and landlords Grant and Jacqueline's wedding. It was a beautiful setting and they are a truly beautiful couple. I was truly struck by the greeting that each and every employee of the hotel offered. Upon passing or engaging in conversation, the ritual was to cover the heart with the right hand and give a slight bow to the head. No words were spoken but a warmth flowed out of this simple gesture that was palpable and real. It made me want to respond similarly and made me feel good each and every time it was offered. Other cultures have similar greetings. Namaste is spoken in the Indian culture and is associated with a bringing of the hands together with the fingers pointed upward. Namaste means "the divinity in me bows to the divinity in you". In Fiji, the universal greeting is Bula or Bula Bula and is accompanied by a warm and full smile. I recall the energy of this greeting ...

Not many words bring up such a visceral response in me and others as "estranged". To me, not much is more disheartening as when 2 people who formerly shared love and some level of relationship become estranged. Estranged goes beyond dislike and even hatred. Estranged basically says that 2 people cannot maintain any level of relationship. On a recent hospice house call, I met a very warm and bright 90 year old who was doing ok medically (though certainly with challenges). I had time to talk more than is customary in a "re-certification visit" and she was engaging and quite pleasant to converse with. I always enjoy talking to "wise" seniors who are fortunate enough to have maintained their wits about them. She had lived a long and full life with a general sense of gratitude and a feeling that she was blessed. However, when I asked her what I could "really" do for her, she shared with me her pain. She had raised 2 children -- a son and daughter. She...