The fact that I can get up every morning and look forward to going to “work” after 15 years is wonderful! I love what I do. Practicing acupuncture combines the best of all worlds into one fulfilling job.
Every person who comes to me has a unique story, and a unique set of circumstances which tells me who they are at their core. The concern with which they walk into my office, is first and foremost a doorway through which I can reach into that core. It is an honor and a privilege to be allowed into their world, where I look for the opportunity for healing. For each person, that opportunity is different and unique. After all, symptoms are pointers…that’s all. In Western medicine, our symptoms ARE the disease. They must be eradicated. In Eastern medicine, symptoms are messengers pointing to a deeper disturbance within that particular individual. Do Not Kill the Messenger! Although some may be loud and obnoxious, and others more subtle, we must respond to the underlying message with an action, so the messenger can go away. By killing the messenger, the patient has lost the chance to hear the message it has for us.
Through this process of deciphering, the patient teaches me what it is she needs, and I learn more and more how to help her. The patient learns how to recover her own ability to heal through seeing where in her life her symptoms are pointing to needed change or behaviors. Together we learn so much about how to heal.
So, every day is a new possibility to learn about healing. There are no recipes, no formulas, no one-size-fits-all treatments. Each time a patient walks into my office is a new chance to be creative and insightful. Each patient is new each time they come in for a treatment and I therefore never use the same treatment. It’s so amazing!
Our healing center is beautiful. The 12 practitioners all work together in a big brick house with a welcoming front porch just a few blocks from the main square in Frederick. People passing by who finally venture in always say how often they have looked at our house and thought it looked so nice and inviting. Inside, we have a big welcoming living room, with music and living plants and soft lighting. Each office inside is unique, decorated by each practitioner. So, the environment in which I practice is like being at home. Some patients come in earlier than their appointments just so they can spend time reading, or closing their eyes and relaxing. Our space is a little oasis in the midst of the busy world outside.
So work for me is a pleasant and creative way to spend my day. I appreciate and value each and every person who comes in for treatment, and I am thankful that this beautiful system of medicine can be a catalyst for not only healing our symptoms, but healing our lives.
You can visit my website at www.acupuncturewithkate.com
