A Place Where Wisdom Dominates Would Help

Wed., Feb. 25, 1998

Linda Michal Special To Opinion

I really love my job at North Idaho College. As a nurse practitioner in Student Health Services, I talk daily with students who, while coming in for routine health care - and with just a little opening - begin to express concerns about their majors, life’s meaning and choices.

One young woman came in for an annual exam and began to talk about how her changing views on life and religion were causing stress in her life. What did it all mean and was she wrong for not believing all that she had been raised with?

A young man came in with stomach pains. When asked about his stress levels, he began to explore how being so far from home and not connected with his family affects him.

I have been involved with a spiritual search personally for a long time. It provides me with a sense of contentment and faith. I know that more people are looking for meaningful work and experiences.

We have started a spirituality-in-the-workplace discussion group at NIC and have had good attendance regularly. People are looking for more than just the material rewards and justification of work. I think that is why reading a recent newspaper article about the concept of a saging center moved me so much.

I know that meaningful work is important to me. I know that meaningful experience is important to everyone, and the idea of a saging center, and how it can connect people to meaningful experiences and to other people, is critical to helping create a more connected community.

I can’t remember when a newspaper article made spirit flow so strongly in me - to think of a place where the community’s elders can not only have their needs met and their abilities strengthened but also share their wisdom and talents with others. The type of activities that can develop true meaning and connection across generational, ethnic and gender divisions can do much to solve many of the societal problems that exist today. It can happen from a grass-roots effort such as a saging center.

So much is lost because there is not as much connection with our elders; many families are distanced between generations and important bonds are stretched. We are rich in people as resources, and it is a shame not to maximize the potential. I would love to support such a concept in our area, both philosophically and as something to look forward to utilizing in the not-to-distant future as a resource for myself.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.

Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.

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