"If I Could Change the World"

I'd start with me, and then I'd make sure others did, too.

AI-Generated Image: A group of Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian people at a park, listening to music and dancing.

We should come with reset buttons.

—And…we should make it a point to push them once a month. We download too much into our brains—into our hearts. We are running on E, forgetting about the fuel, and the fumes have clouded our vision. Many of us are not using the knowledge gifted to us regularly, and it shows.

Having worked in the medical field for twenty-two years now, I have seen so many people not apply listening skills. I have watched whole adults and functioning men, women, and beautiful beings attempt to repeat what I have said to them, and it has been the opposite of what I said. An example of this is as follows:

Me: “You’re going to hand the order to the Tech who takes you back. You will go across the hall to the blue waiting area. Have a seat, someone will be out to get you shortly.”

Patient: “I’m gon’ sit in here? By the door right there (*points at the door*), and wait for someone to come and get me?”

Pump all the brakes. Where did I say any of that? When?! I heard myself and my co-workers did, too. People have become so incredibly engulfed in their thoughts that half the time, they cannot devote any additional listening power to whatever it is you may say to them.

It’s as if they’re thinking about the night’s dinner, the next day’s chores, their kids’ multiple activities and practices, that they just cannot apply one iota of time to anything else.

I thank God for patience. I thank Him for the ability to repeat myself in a calm, understanding, and thoughtful manner. When the above occurs, I typically breathe just a little bit before saying once more…

”Please go across the hall to the blue waiting area. You will have a seat in that waiting area. Take your order with you. A Tech will be out shortly to get you for your scan.”

These are not my elderly patients with whom I am communicating. They are often much younger and much more interested in zooming in and out of the radiology building to get to wherever it is they wish to get to. It takes the blood of every lamb washed over me not to pop up out of my seat and knock some ever-loving sense into them.

We are all over the place, and someone needs to scrape us off the walls before we line every inch of it with our ignorance.

A reset button would push all excess madness out of our brains, allowing more space for clear-headedness and the sense to understand minor and common information, and interact accordingly with others.

The world is on fire. We are being pulled in every direction by the carelessness of a president who doesn’t know what he’s doing. The news is seeping into our marrow, and we are breaking down before ourselves and others. A gathering of the minds needs to take place, and it needs to take place sooner rather than later.

We need change—it has to start with me.

When I find myself struggling throughout the day from various people who just do not listen, aren’t comprehending what should take place, or I have to interact with a doctor’s office who neglected to send a patient’s order, etc., I calm myself by doing deep, quick breaths and saying a few short prayers.

This occurs daily. I’ve had this cool-down method in my arsenal for the last five years. The novelty of it is wearing off, and I simply want things to fall in line and in order as they should. I have to remember, though… what I want and when I want it may not be conducive to the overall focal point—caring completely for our patients.

I am starting with me. I know my quirks. I understand my pet peeves. I am aware of what sends me over the edge, and I can reel myself in so that I do not meet the ground with my face and bust my head until the white meat shows.

People can and will take you there if you let them.

I identify the thing that causes my heart to race—sends me into fight or flight mode, and I move calmly and carefully through it. I remind myself to be mindful of every second of my interaction with another human being while I am at work. It is up to me to create subtle positive changes that may flow fluidly to another and influence their actions, too.

What I want at the end of my day is to say, “I made a difference. I also made someone’s day.” I cannot do that if I fly off the cuff and lose my peace. I must remember to guide the reins and stay on a straight path.

You cannot have change without acknowledging why it’s necessary.

I know it is a much-needed thing—change. I know if I want the world to change, I have to start with me and watch as the little things twist, turn, and grow into more positive things that others will notice, too. The beauty of having God wrapped up in my being is that He automatically presents Himself without any direction from me.

There is not a day that goes by when a patient doesn’t compliment my smile, the time I have taken with them, understanding their slower pace, etc. That cannot be me—that has to be God. That is love. That is being a follower. That is knowing it is not me with the power, it is Him.

One of my favorite songs by Eric Clapton is “Change the World.” The lyrics below are the reason why:

If I could be king even for a day
I'd take you as my queen, I'd have it no other way
And our love will rule in this kingdom we have made
Till then, I'd be a fool wishin' for the day

We are being swallowed by land whales who don’t even have the decency to let us lick the krill from their arsenic-laced tongues. If we must change, let it be for the better. Start with yourself. I know that is where I am beginning.

I hope it isn’t where I end.