by Christina Gerakiteys
December 2021
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On Purpose with Purpose
I remember my parents often commenting, “The only sure things in life were death and taxes.”
I have changed that a little to, “The only constant thing in life is change!”
As a species we have been changing and evolving, consistently, forever. We have made discoveries and when they have added value and improved situations, we have adapted them into our lives. The value added by the technology of fire moved our species to the next level. The momentum that occurred when we changed from horse and cart to automobile was exponential.
The last two years have seen us traverse through a condensed and intense period of constant change, constant information, constantly evolving rules and always constantly challenging lessons, which we have survived; for the most part. In no way do I suggest it has been easy.
Within the Estuary, there has been a constant stream of support. That’s what we do, we support each other and have each other’s backs. We are each the ebb and flow of interwoven lives, the high tides and the low, the swells and the calm.
To say that challenges have abounded is an understatement. Businesses have been challenged by lockdowns and vaccination requirements. On a personal level we have had our beliefs challenged from a multitude of health perspectives. As the Estuary, we have faced them with love, kindness, understanding and respect. And these are the attributes we need to take into our spheres of influence; from our immediate families into the lives of the families of our clients and beyond. Never underestimate the ripple effect of your words and actions.
I am reminded of my grandmother, looking after five grandchildren every school holidays. At the end of each day, she would give us a cup of Chamomile tea for what I now recognise as a pre-bedtime sedation! How else would she have managed to get five excited cousins to sleep? It was also her ‘go to’ if we had a stomach ailment. These practices she learnt living on a tiny Greek island from her mother and her mother’s mother and so on and so forth; knowledge passed down through generations.
Years later I recall reading the scientific paper on Chamomile. The herb had officially been classified as a carminative and a digestive. How wise was my grandmother? How intuitive?
Nature and intuition have always provided the fundamentals from which we operate. I believe that there is a greater societal move back to these qualities at all levels; from the personal to business and corporations, to governments. Science based protocols have stemmed from an intuitive feel for something that has led to observation, leading to the development of a hypothesis, leading to a trial to prove or disprove the theory. Science has largely proved what we have known from observation to be true.
From the inconsistencies of life (our constant state of change), to the consistencies of practice (from Chamomile to St Mary’s Thistle), what unites us in the Estuary is our desire to serve our fellow humans, our desire to create a richer experience, our desire to play a role in the healing of another sentient being. That healing may be a transition to a richer life or a transition to a place of peace and acceptance. This is a constant, whether you are a herbalist, a kinesiologist, a massage therapist, a homeopath or a practitioner of any other healing modality. There is a deep sense of purpose in every approach.
When everything you do is aligned to your life’s purpose, your raison d’etre, the consistent changes are not the focus.
What is Purpose? Let's go cliche for a minute. It is the reason you get out of bed every morning. It's why you put in the extra hours. It's that feeling, when you work like the business is yours even when it isn't. It's the lightness in your step and the sparkle in your eye. It’s the determination you feel to continue even when the frustration and the angst are about to erupt.
I have had the privilege of being on site at some amazing companies around the world; from Disney Imagineering to Zappos, Apple Park to Google. There is something electric and vitalising when you feel the energy fuelled by Purpose.
Disney set out to create, ‘The Most Magical Place on Earth.’ Whether you have visited a Disneyland in person, or you have been swept away into the magic of a Disney fairy-tale, you would have felt that vision.
Apple set out to have people, ‘Think Different.’ They took computing and the experience to a whole new level.
What does this have to do with the Estuary? When we set out to create this community, our raison d’etre was to protect the knowledge and wisdom of natural healing. It took us a little while to shape the words to express our soul.
It’s one thing to have it and another to use it. How does it work? We can measure everything we do against this statement: from mentoring to education; mind melds to conversations. Is what we are doing protecting the knowledge and wisdom of natural healing? If the answer is YES - we are on track, on purpose.
What is your purpose? The reason you started your adventure into healing? What would be your answer to this question in a few short yet dynamic and vibrant words?
Your purpose isn't a cliche. It's not simply a 'nice to have'. It's the oxygen.
