Week 3
I arrived back into the United States of America yesterday morning (February 24, 2015) from my trip to Aqaba, Jordan. I was in Jordan to present alongside my research partners for the Middle Eastern Nurses & Partners Uniting in Human Caring Conference. The mission of the conference is to promote the practice and application of Caring Science/Caring Theory, translating theory into concrete ethical and evidence-informed approaches for self and others (http://watsoncaringscience.org/education-programs/intro-to-human-caring/middle-eastern-nurses-project/). My research team and I presented over our research study The Lived Experience of Incivility in Nursing Education. The picture below is Jean Watson opening the day and we were the first presenters on Saturday of the conference schedule (that is our presentation displayed on the screen behind Jean Watson).
The conference was an amazing awakening into the human caring experience for myself. I never imagined my life experiences would have evolved to a place and time as being in Jordan with one of the great nursing theorists. Let alone the great nursing theorist who is responsible for the theory of caring in nursing. Phenomenal!
There are so many experiences that I could share on this blog about my experience, but I will focus on "love" since this is #4weeksoflove. So here are a few things I learned in Aqaba, Jordan about love...
1. Love is universal. Love is a language that transcends every border, boundary, being, language, culture, tribe, country, region, continent, and any other word you could find describing separations. What does this mean? Maybe you are thinking there are words for love in every language or culture, but that is not what I'm trying to describe. How do you demonstrate love to others who do not speak your language. I was thinking about how the people in Jordan and everyone at the conference could feel love from me, how could I show my love to them, how would they know? The one thing that came to mind was a smile. A smile can transcend every border and a smile can show love. I smiled a lot in Jordan.
2. Love as a caring nurse. There were many presentations from nurses all over the Middle Eastern regions and as I listened and learned, what came to mind was the foundation of caring in every nurse. It is one thing to go to work every day and care (action form) for those who are sick and help mend them back to health or to a better state of being, it is another thing to be in conscious awareness of caring as the fundamental essential for being a nurse. Caring for humanity, this is the type of caring which crosses every barrier and this caring begins with love. I had an epiphany while at the conference, that a caring nurse can love and care for anyone no matter the barrier, boundary, being, language, tribe, culture, country, or region because love and caring is universal. Humanity can receive love and caring. The epiphany was that I could love and care for any human because I have knowledge and training as a nurse and of the human system, but, more importantly, I have found the true source of love within my heart.
3. Love begins from within. There is a place within each of us where love lives and it is in the heart. Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted for saying "to handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart." What I know is true is that one must first know what love is before they can demonstrate love to others. I had to find out what love was before I could demonstrate it to anyone else. This was not easy for me and it took many years of my life to be comfortable with love. I cannot be selective of who I love because then barriers are created-love has no barriers. A challenge for myself and others is to find and continue the source of love in your life and the rest will come naturally.
Love is so amazing. God is Love.
At the conference in Jordan, there was discussion about world peace and during this discussion one of the words that kept coming up was...guess...yep, LOVE!
How can you demonstrate love in your environment?
Love always,
NurseNicelyRN
This picture is of me and my research partners from Oklahoma City University (Carie Strauch, Staci Swim and Vanessa Wright) creating a caring circle in the Red Sea in Aqaba, Jordan. Love.
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