It is the season of gratitude and while I try to stay in a grateful state of mind year round, I thought it would be fitting for this River Points blog to focus on why I am grateful for acupuncture. The answer seems obvious to me and just about every other practicing acupuncturist. WE HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD. I am being serious, this is my dream and I get to live it every day! How can I not be grateful? I get to come to work day in and day out, empower people to feel their best and watch them get better. Often times, these people feel hopeless for relief and even the smallest change in their condition can be a very big blessing. I get to teach people to trust their own bodies again. I teach them that healing is not only attainable but inevitable and with the right conditions, healing can happen faster than they’ve imagined. I get to practice this medicine in a culture where acupuncture is new, unknown and exciting to many. Acupuncture can seem like magic to some and results are not always expected but almost always gained because the body wants to heal and has the power to do so. The healing outcomes of acupuncture are coupled with major side effects that make people happier, more relaxed and better equipped to deal with daily stress. In a culture where being busy and stressed is expected, these side effects are not only wanted but needed. How awesome is that?!
A word of advice: if you want to wake up excited about your day every day, focus your attention on helping others in a positive way. Making someone else feel better is one of the greatest gift you can give yourself. Because it feels so wonderful, it becomes compulsive and second nature and for this I am thankful. I wish I could say my career choice is a selfless act but it isn’t is it? No matter my reasoning, I am thankful for my career, the wonderful patients that come into my life, the healing that takes place every day, and I am thankful for Acupuncture.
With wishes of Health and Happiness this Thanksgiving, Barb
