hope

hope … certainty in the future …

… based on the strength of a present reality. “Engendering hope is important, because it helps the patient to confront the uncertain future.” Kylma et. al. summarize hope engendering interventions … affirmation of patient’s worth, working with the patient, considering the patient in a holistic sense, nurse’s reflection in action. Affirmation of the patient’s worth …

hope … certainty in the future … Read More »

hope … a song without words …

Coulehan discusses hope, especially in the context of hospice and palliative care… “Studies of terminally ill patients have demonstrated clusters of personal and situational factors associated with enhancement or suppression of hope at the end of life. Enhancing factors included interpersonal connectedness, attainable goals, spiritual beliefs and practices, personal attributes of determination, courage, and serenity, …

hope … a song without words … Read More »

who will be the final narrator of my life … ?

… the Mystery … or I myself … ? As Hutter explains, magnanimity – natural hope – protects us from despair because it “anticipates a final and meaningful integration of all my experiences in a worthy narrative … even if I will not be its final narrator.” Those who pursue physician assisted suicide/euthanasia (and their …

who will be the final narrator of my life … ? Read More »

autonomy … control … unhinged?

Discussing the many psychological and spiritual maladies of our times, John Waters suggests the root problem may lie in our failure to recognize our utter dependence … “The desire to impose order on the universe and to become unsettled at our inevitable failure to do so may be ultimately a symptom of the expression in …

autonomy … control … unhinged? Read More »