Moonwalking in Chiropractic
I happened to be one of the one billion people of the planet that was caught up in watching the memorial tribute to Michael Jackson today. As a product of the 80’s social scene, I couldn’t help reminisce about my favorite tunes. In some ways, these are timeless treasures and that segues into my posting nicely. The man was a genius who captured the world’s attention. Gifted , without a doubt but also committed to excellence. Willing to explore and shatter conventional strategies and social norms. So let me ask you this…what “moonwalk” have you dreamed up lately? In the tribute, Magic Johnson spoke of his friendship and stated that Michael made him a better point guard. Who would ever have thought of that connection.
Being exposed to greatness and talent rubs off. Hanging out with creative visionaries rubs off. It’s not hero worship that draws the intelligent toward the exceptional. It’s an attraction to greatness. They don’t just raise the bar, as Berry Gordy said, they shatter it.
It’s unrealistic that we strive to be in the company of the social and entertainment elite. In fact I find that slightly repulsive as a goal. However, a wise man once directed me to read autobiographies of exceptional humans. There is genius in their stories and you never know what nuggets can pop out and change your life’s direction. I made a decision, years ago, after listening to that wise man, to align myself with my purpose and accept that the “job” of chiropractic was an expression of that purpose the same way that my wife and children were. Each friendship that I allowed to flourish was purposeful. Each adjustment given was “in line with the divine”. In fact, as Buckminster Fuller stated, we are never off purpose. In the same way that a bumblebee takes a convoluted and erratic route through life, we are always attached to our purpose, striving to bring clarity and simplicity to it. How fast we come to this agreement with ourselves and how committed we are to filtering out distractions allow us time to nurture this jewel called purpose. Somehow, we have to look at the limited time we are allotted and choose to be present. I assume that Michael Jackson figured this out as early as age 10 and let his genius flow through his actions along his path of life.
I get to chat and coach with hundreds of different docs and without a doubt they are the most caring and committed group of heroes that I could ever spend time with…BUT, as a rule, they stifle their genius by trying to be something they are not. Chiropractors forget that they are chiropractors. They try and act out physician and therapist personas in their practice instead of letting the chiropractic message…the genius and simplicity of chiropractic… flow from their communication and their actions. Chiropractic offers hope where others see rehab. Chiropractic works by releasing the destructive habits that emotional and physical distress have caused by sludging- up the central neural processor. If we really care for our people we can spend time coaching new and more fulfilling life strategies to help redirect their energies. Perhaps we can save a few “starfish” along the way. All of this takes time and a commitment to be exceptional. Michael figured this out on a grand scale. Can you?
{ 1 comment }
Doc F,
I love the connection you made to being exceptional Throught the example of Michael Jackson. When in the trenches, it is challenging to stick to principles of chiropractic and not act like therapists when the critical mass sees us this way. But you are absolutely right. Until we see ourselves as true health care providers and not a provider of relief, no one else will. First, we need to break down our philosophy into the 5 branches so we can define who we are and plan the proceedures “politics”. In fact I do need to do just that. Thanks for the inspiring thots. I’m going to moon walk my way out of here now.
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