In the Gray Zone

How do you respond to that, "gray zone" of uncertainty?
Dr. Reman shares that, "Sooner or later we will come to the edge of all that we can control and find life, waiting there for us." This, dear friends, is where the fullness of life is meeting me - smack dab in the middle of uncertainty. It is an invitation to a deeper vulnerability, and dare I say, it is….., "terrifyingly glorious!”
We spend way too much time in our life reaching for a false certainty - whether that is a certainty in our health, longevity, relationships, retirement, careers, finances, children, spiritual life, beliefs or emotional life. In this video, I share a short story from Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen’s book: “My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge and Belonging,” and how it personally affected me as I have been dealing with new uncertainties in my own life.
I share how stress has affected me physically (maybe a little TMI, but oh well, got to keep is real, right?) because whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all experience stress, right?
Dr. Remen, is a medical doctor and a professor at the Osher Center of Integrative Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco, AND founder of, The Institute for the Study of Health and Illness.
She herself has lived with a chronic and painful illness for over 60 years. She has undergone 8 major surgeries and numerous minor surgeries as well as a month long hospitalization most of which was in a coma due to a flare in her disease.
She shares how her whole approach to medicine evolved as she allowed life to be a co-teacher, along with science. In her writings and teachings she shares much about healing, hope, and living ones fullest humanity in the midst of so many uncertainties by leading with love and listening. She also refers to the “art of healing” and for years taught medical students about this art that has less to do with “curing” and more to do with “healing.”
If you are experiencing stress due to the “uncertainties” of life, I hope this video will speak to you as well. I am finding that I can only settle myself in the middle of uncertainty when I stop trying to be in control of outcomes.
I am included links to two wonderful interviews with Dr. Remen below if you want to hear her wisdom, knowledge and thoughts on helign. please take a listen - especially if you work in the field of healthcare - but also it is a good listen to everyone who wants to be a healer in the world.
1. Can We All Become Healers? Rachel Naomi Remen and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy (the end of the interview includes questions from the audience and I loved that part of the video!) Aired in August 2023
• Can We All Become Heal...
2. On Being With Kristen Tippet: Dr. Remen and How We Live With Loss. (originally aired in 2005) Another lovely interview but more on the personal life of Dr. Remen’s journey and how all of life can be infused with purpose and meaning.
onbeing.org/pr...