I was one of the first students enrolled in Regent University’s initial offering of a distance education MBA in the fall of 1990.

It was a one of a kind experience from a world class educational institution!

As I look back on the time I spent obtaining this degree I cherish it is one of the highlights of my life.

The coursework was challenging with minimal interaction with other students, completed in the vacuum of one’s house far from a brick and mortar campus.

Compared to the technology which exists today we had archaic means of communicating with one another.

Conference calls and slow email were the norm.

Although it may seem like an injustice to distill the nearly five year experience to a one sentence takeaway, it would be the words uttered by Professor Dan Chamberlain, Chairman of the Business Department at the time, as having a lasting impact on me:

“You will never know what another might be experiencing unless you walk a mile in his or her moccasins.”

The school’s central focus was and is centered on the principle of Servant Leadership as inferred below:

“…Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” (Philippians 2: 3-5 NLT)

In short, it is all about following the Golden Rule:

“Do for others as you would want them to do for you.”

I have reiterated Professor Chamberlain’s statement many times and have thought about them often.

As you may know, I started employment at the Lancaster General Health System this week.

Life has been a welcome blur since Monday with many things taking place.

Have you ever seen a dog in a car poking its head out the window while cruising down the road while the vehicle is doing 65 mph or greater?

That’s how I have felt this week.

The wind is blowing and pinning my ears back and my head is out the window with a wide grin at what might come next.

I am appreciative of a new opportunity and deeply grateful to be working again.

Most of my career has been in the healthcare industry.

• Many moons ago I worked for a large national health insurer associated with the color blue.
• Two stops back on the employment train I worked for the largest rural HMO in the nation and its sponsoring regional healthcare system.
• My most recent employment was with a healthcare consulting firm where I was responsible for financial projections (think number crunching on steroids) for our clients.
• Now, I begin a new adventure with a very prominent healthcare system in Central PA as Financial Analyst in a new division started last year.

The first two days this week were spent in “new employee orientation”.

A video was shown which simply captured my tearful attention.

Although the video is set in a healthcare environment and the associated “scenes” one might incur in such a setting, its message goes far beyond the confines of a hospital or doctor’s office.

In invite you to take a few moments and watch along.

The message pertains to each of us.

I am unique and so are you.

We all have our stories and so do those with whom we interact.

As much as I hate to say it, many times I ignore the stories of multiple people I might intersect with on a given day as I pass them by without even a “hello” being directed their way.

I have a hunch you might be able to relate to this as well.

There are many times where I have been so consumed with the affairs of my own life that I failed to acknowledge the person in front of me, let alone the “stuff” which might be playing out on their stage.

I can think of:

• A young mom with a couple of kids who simply might be on overload with work, attending to her little ones as best she can, and doing it all with little sleep.
• A co-worker worried about her son fighting overseas while she is steeped in a pile of mile high work which never seems to end, compounded by a boss who keeps pounding away.
• A teacher who has spent a career sacrificing for others and now having to say “good-bye” to those she calls her “kids”.
• A dad who might be walking his “little girl” down the aisle and he is consumed with the emotion of how time has flown by.

My purpose here is not to condemn you or to wallow in any personal guilt.

My purpose is to look the man in the mirror in the eye and ask him take notice to those around him and at a minimum acknowledge the presence of another.

As I said earlier, you and I are living out our stories.

In the same vein, so are many others.

We can make a difference in someone’s world by simply tuning our frequency into a station other the WAAM (All About Me).

It might be a simple “hello” with an accompanying smile which can make all the difference.

Maybe it is a door held open for the lady approaching you.

Perhaps you or I can ask the question of a stranger, “Can I help you?” thereby lifting their burden ever so slightly.

It might mean taking a few minutes to listen to another and take a detour from our own agenda.

You and I can offer another much hope, simply by caring.

I ask the question again, are you (and I) willing to walk a mile in another’s moccasins?

I hope so.

You and I can be the flower in someone else’s day, today!

What’s stopping you?

Photo Courtesy of Brittany Castillejo