Wisdom, prevention and community

Wisdom. Recognize that we are human and will always be moved by the way that our brains, bodies and spirit work in concert. The more we know about how our body chemistry impacts our behavior and how our eating, exercising and nurturing habits impact our body chemistry, the more control we will have over our behavior. The more you know, the freer you can be to make choices. The less you know, the easier you are to manipulate by chemistry, circumstance and by the deliberate efforts of others. You can rise beyond your basic body/ primitive brain function, but only with conscious effort.

Recognize that development and maturation are part of the human condition. We can choose to learn, to grow, to get smarter and wiser. As we attain higher levels of maturity and achieve some mastery, we can see the path and help others along the way. Just as a good teacher can recognize the stages of learning to read and then structure a learning experience and environment to best suit a student’s developmental needs, we can work to recognize the stages of human emotional, social, cognitive and moral development and provide appropriate learning environments and experiences for those who are on the path behind us.

Prevention. Recognize that there will always be people at every stage of development; we all have to start as babies and grow to maturity. Recognize that the quality of our nurturing, our homes, our schools, our communities and our life experiences impact how well and how quickly we progress along the path to our potential. How we treat each other makes a difference, every day, in every way.

Community. Recognize that we can make a difference for individuals and for our communities by aggregating our wisdom and creating the best possible nurturing for every stage of human development. Preventive nurture is cheaper than remediation and crisis management. Cost is not the issue; prevention is always cheaper in the long run. It is our primitive brain ignoring the big rational picture, until big events trigger a fight or flight response. And, it is our inner child, refusing to grow up and take responsibility for long-term outcomes.

We have more than the two choices most frequently bandied about: freedom or regulation, do-nothing or use force, hands-off or authoritarian control. We have grown smarter and know that there is a middle ground, where boundaries are firm and dictated by clear values and principles, where people and their issues are respected without compromising those values and principles and without resorting to physical or emotional coercion or violence.

WHEN we, as a community, decide that we want every single person to have the best possible beginning, middle and end of life–because we are all impacted when we have deranged, deluded, diminished people coursing through our communities–we will focus our extraordinary abilities and aggregate our wisdom to achieve this goal. We can make it happen, when we make it a priority.

Here’s one idea:

From hospitality to hospice

Preventive strategies have the greatest impact at the beginning of life. Let’s optimize the beginning of life for all our citizens.

We have an excellent model for optimizing end of life: hospice. We have decided that we want our citizens to be able to die with dignity; Medicare provides some of the costs of hospice care. The hospice system is neither adequately funded, nor comprehensive, but it is a well developed and successful model that could be implemented more fully so that fewer people fall through the cracks. The hospice model is sensitive to cultural and religious differences and is designed to offer services without forcing intervention.

My mother passed away in November and we had hospice services for several months before her death. When she began to grow unsteady on her feet, we had a home visit from an occupational therapist within two days and a walker delivered in three. The therapist went through our house and noted improvements that we could make to improve safety. (The speed of service is a tribute to Portland Kaiser Permanente). Through the hospice program we had offers of physical therapy, religious counseling, home aid assistance. We had a weekly visit from a nurse. We had an opportunity to ask an expert for advice. It was very helpful at the end of life.

Imagine a nation where we optimized the beginning of life for all our citizens. Imagine a nation where every parent could have a visit from a variation of the ‘Welcome Wagon.’ This person could come before a baby’s birth to offer advice to new parents on home safety, prenatal health for mom and family, preparing siblings for the arrival of a new family member, effective inter-family communication and conflict resolution. New babies would have a visit from a home health nurse each week for the first month, and then every month for the first three months, and then quarterly until the child is two. A professional could spend a little time with parent and child, answering questions, offering advice and offering a link to supplemental services when needed. Families could have a visit from a nutritionist to review family eating patterns and offer support and guidance for shopping for good nutrition. An occupational therapist could advise on how to set up the home for her ease, comfort and safety. The system could include volunteers as does hospice for respite and other assistance. We could do this for every family in America for a fraction of what we spend in a week on bombs.

When we gather our highest and best wisdom, we know how to spot developmental problems in children early. We know how to provide remediation, so that children with difficulties can overcome them to the fullest extent possible. Let’s do it.

We know how to spot potential disease and mental illness in adults. We know how to help people get back to health and well-being. Let’s do it.

We know how to spot potential trouble in communities. We know how to nip trouble in the bud, before whole communities collapse into sad, neglected, dangerous and crime-ridden nests. Let’s do it.

We know how to spot potential trouble on the global stage. We know how to facilitate, mediate and negotiate with respect for the issues and without compromising our own interests. Let’s do it.

We may never achieve 100%: every global citizen living at their highest potential, happy, with full liberty and the ability to be fully responsible for their actions. However, we can aim high. Let’s begin.