Recentering Through Giving Back: Helping Communities Find Their Way Back to Balance

RECENTERING THROUGH GIVING BACK: HELPING COMMUNITIES FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO BALANCE

Healing and spiritually go hand in hand with giving back to the community. Part of the road to healing and recovery is helping others achieve that too. Through my practice, I am able to get to know patients of different backgrounds who are more than eager to find their way back to balance. As part of my healing purpose and restoring balance to those who need it, i have been taking part in medical missions. The universe will sometimes knock on your door, and you’re going to need to listen. I believe we all need to listen and always respond to the universe’s call to help and give back.

BRINGING BALANCE TO A WAR-TORN LAND

I visited Cotabato City, Maguindanao in 2016 to serve at the Cotabato Regional Hospital — the only hospital within miles of the war-torn land. I spoke with a patient who asked me to treat her mother. When they said they were going to pick her up, I thought they lived within the area. It turns out that they had to take a 2-hour bus ride to and from their community.

I assisted with pre-operations for the hospital’s ophthalmology team, helping patients stabilize their heart rates through medical acupuncture, enabling them to rehabilitate from procedures or to get them ready for operations. I made sure all the patients recovered calmly, given the environment that they lived in and the situation that the community was going through.

FINDING BALANCE WITH NATURE

Later that year, I found myself in the Northern part of the country — with a small farming community in Benguet which needed healing. I worked with Dr. Samuel Dizon, who had long been a part of the community.

I was in awe of the way the community responded to each others’ needs. As people who are deeply connected with nature, they made sure that everybody’s need were met – regardless of financial situation. I recall how one member of the community even offered their spare bed for patients, a true testament to the spirit of our medical mission.

The town cared for nature the way they cared for each other, believing that if one thing was good for the plants, then it would be good for the people as well. I was able to draw strength and spirit from this sense of community and help bring the town back into spiritual and physical balance.