Healing with Heart from Moss Communications

Being More Than Our Professional Identity

Healing with Heart: Inspirations for Health Care Professionals, is the latest book by Moss Communications, written by a health care professional specifically for health care professionals. It is a portable, gift-quality book designed to offer quick, uplifting and insightful messages as one begins the day or at any point throughout the day.

In this reflection, Healing with Heart describes the dilemma that all of us face as we try to meet the demands of all of the roles and responsibilities we juggle daily. How can we find meaning in our work, our family life, in our personal life? This is the question posed and an answer is suggested in the complete version of the reflection. Here is an excerpt from the reflection Being More Than Our Professional Identity, from Healing with Heart:

There is an oft-quoted inscription on a tombstone in London that reads, “Here lies Jeremy Brown, born a man and died a grocer.” That is a humorous reminder of how easily our lives can become narrowed by work. As the saying suggests, this fellow lost part of himself on his way to becoming a grocer.

We are so much more than the talents we have developed, the roles we play or the titles we carry. In hospitals, with the long work hours, continuous demands and immovable deadlines, it is easy to lose ourselves in relentless activity. We even have name tags to remind everyone how much we are defined by our job title.

Our personal life outside of work may not offer any relief. Often, by the time we go home, we are tired and want to do little more than relax. However, we may have family responsibilities as fathers, mothers, grandparents, or caretakers for a home-bound family member. It’s no wonder our identity can get so tied up in our tasks and responsibilities….