Page 19 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

P r efaC e
harmony with the ocean swells as they rise and fall with each cycle
of the waves. So, I prepare to revise and update this original work as
I come full circle in reviewing my life, my work, and my career, mov-
ing to another rhythmic space for this time in my personal and profes-
sional life world.
Or rather, I let it all move me, take me, wash over me, prepare me
for a new space in my thinking and reconnecting—like a new wave
upon the shore, yet with familiarity of the oceanic sea-of-thinking,
which still runs through my life and my collected work on caring. I am
continually writing, teaching, pondering what I need to learn.
Not knowing how this revised edition will unfold but open to its
emergence, I invite others to enter into and follow my path into the
future. At this moment I am both somber and celebratory as I journey
into the process.
Caring begins with being present, open to compassion, mercy,
gentleness, loving-kindness, and equanimity toward and with self
before one can offer compassionate caring to others. It begins with a
love of humanity and everything that is living: the immanent, subtle,
radiant, shadow-and-light vicissitudes of experiences along the way—
honoring with reverence the mystery, the unknowns, the imperma-
nence and changes but actively, joyfully participating in all of it, the
pain, the joy, and everything.
Thus, to begin, I invite you to enter into a centering, mindful pro-
cess, a reflective pause, and a contemplative meditation:

Just take a deep breath and appreciate yourself, your life, in all its
fullness/emptiness, whatever you are feeling just now, pondering
briefly what is emerging for you in relation to your personal calling
into nursing and your continuing reason and purpose for remain-
ing. I invite you to briefly dwell in silence, open your heart as well
as your mind; offer a sense of gratitude for your life and all that has
brought you to this point in time.
Thus, you begin to realize with this entering space of pause,
silence, breath, and gratitude that this evolved work is more than a
new edition of an original work; it evokes a contemplative, reflec-
tive quieting down. This work invites a return to one’s inner core to

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