I
read an article from the paper by a family practice doctor about an 88 year old
patient with congestive heart failure and renal failure. He had been to a large
number of specialists; none were able to help him, and so he was referred back
to the family practice. In this case, if you treat one condition and the
patient gets better, the other condition worsens. This man refuses dialysis.
This family physician doesn't know what he can do for his patient.
He
then remembered a visiting palliative care physician's words -- "We forget to ask patients what they want
from their care. What are their goals?" He then asks the elderly
patient,"What are the goals for your care? How can I help you?" The
patient responded, "I would like to walk without falling." The goal
for these elderly patients should be to maximize their function. He told the
patient that they have services designed to keep him comfortable and that would
allow him to stay at home.
The
nature of the questions we ask either keeps the existing system in place, or
brings an alternative approach and future into the picture. In his book, Community, by Peter Block, he makes a
distinction between Questions with
Little Power and Questions with
Great Power.
● Questions with Little Power are
questions that maintain dominance and are concerned with Being Right. They are questions that create a predictable future
without uncertainty. The result is the
Present projected forward. What distinguishes the future, is it's
unpredictability and mystery.
● Questions with Great Power are questions
that have the power to make a difference, that engage people in an intimate
way, confront them with their freedom, and invite them to co-create a future
possibility. They are questions that cause actions, that do not allow the
luxury of being a spectator.
Block
defines a great question with three qualities:
● IT IS AMBIGUOUS. There is no attempt to
try to precisely define what is meant by the question. This requires each
person to bring their own, personal meaning into the room.
● IT IS PERSONAL. All passion, commitment
and connection grow out of what is most personal. We need to create more space
for the personal.
● IT EVOKES ANXIETY. All that matters
makes us anxious. It is our wish to escape from anxiety that steals our
aliveness. If there is no edge to the question, there is no power.
Questions with Little
Power
are -- "How do we get people to show
up and be committed? How do we get those people to buy into our vision?"
Questions with Great
Power
are -- "What is the commitment you
hold that brought you into this room? What are the gifts you hold that have not
been brought fully into the world? What is your contribution to the very thing
you complain about?" These types of questions have the capacity to
move something forward.
In
coming articles we will investigate these ideas further as Jim Myers and I address
two very important questions about the present and about our future -- "Why the TOV Center? Why Now?”
Be
Blessed,
Rabbi
Jeffrey Leynor
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