NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members by Alan Levine, Ballad Health President and CEO, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
Good afternoon:
Today is a day I believe causes each of us to pause. On this day 22 years ago, our country was attacked in an evil and unmerciful way, as innocent people were murdered before our eyes. I will never forget the morning it happened. I had just dropped my kids off to school, and heard the reporting on the first plane on my car radio. By the time I got to my office, the second plane had hit. I will never forget how I felt. I’m sure that’s the same for each of you. And, as is true of most things, we each processed it in our own way, and the trajectory of many American lives changed as a result.
In thinking about the message I wanted to share with you during this solemn day, I keep coming back to something I wrote about a couple months ago. Hate, anger and negativity, for some reason, sometimes come too easily for many as humans. When we face something ugly, or we see something that seems an injustice, or we encounter something that we are disagreeable with, it is all too easy for us to put up our guard, become defensive, or even lash out. I am not saying there are not times for a thoughtful and appropriate response to any of those things. In the case of 9/11, our nation rose above hate and anger as its immediate response and focused on helping the victims, honoring the first responders and in the most vivid display of good, we prayed. We were all hurt, but as a nation, we looked somewhere better.
I will never forget the members of Congress – all of them – standing in front of the Capitol in Washington – as they sang “America the Beautiful.” It was totally spontaneous, and it was an example of the goodness of us. Our kindness in the moment could not be mistaken for a lack of resolve. Both could be true – America could be kind and good and, at the same time, deliver a forceful response.
It’s not possible to translate how we felt that day to how we deal with our everyday challenges and issues – so please don’t mistake this message for that. Very little can be as heavy as what we dealt with that day.
But, as trusted healthcare workers, we do encounter things every day that test our critical thinking skills, our emotions, and how we view our service to others. And I keep coming back to one of the most important and basic messages our faiths teach us: kindness and compassion. The art of putting ourselves in the shoes of other people in each instance we encounter others. When people are in pain, discomfort or face life challenges, it is us to whom they turn.
I hope in each case, no matter the circumstance, we can each pause to understand that we may never know the difficulty or anguish someone is experiencing when they encounter us. Sometimes, they are afraid to speak up for themselves. Sometimes, they are angry about something else, and their anger becomes directed toward you – even if you have nothing to do with what made them angry. But the blessing in all this is that, no matter what the challenge – WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE GOOD … TO BE COMPASSIONATE … TO BE CARING … AND TO HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF THAT PERSON’S DAY OR LIFE.
I hope that in your work area, no matter where you are, you will engage in a conversation with your colleagues about the powerful impact you can have on people every day. If someone is lost in the hall, what would it mean to them if you smiled and asked them how you can help? After every interaction, what’s the harm in asking the other person “is there anything else I can do to be of help to you?” If you were in that person’s shoes, how would you feel about how you were treated?
There is a lot out there in the world that triggers basic human reactions of anger and hate. And that’s understandable. Social media and the unending news cycle only pour gasoline on that. The better of all of us, in my opinion, would be to set that stuff aside and to focus on how each of us is blessed to have the opportunity to help others when they are suffering – and to take that gift as the blessing it was intended to be for us.
What I want most for each member of the Ballad Health family is that, each day, we find joy in what we’ve done for others. It’s great to be good at what we do, but it’s extraordinary to be good at what we do while also understanding the very human element of how what we do is perceived by others. In my view, kindness and compassion are two words I would hope everyone who encounters a Ballad Health team member would use to describe us. And that will happen if we each act with kindness and compassion.
God bless each of you, and God bless our great nation.
Alan
