Collaborative Passover
I apologize to my readers who feel that I have not been giving my blog the attention that it deserves. The last month has been a sprint:
- I was in Chicago last month attending the ACHE Congress, where I received the Dean Conley Award for the best article appearing in a healthcare management publication; that article, “The Tectonic Plates Are Shifting: Cultural Change vs. Mural Dyslexia” is available on my website
- I attended The System Seminar on Internet marketing, where I implemented a new tool, Kampyle, that allows visitors to my website to offer constructive feedback; please use it to hep me serve you better by clicking here
- I revised my slides for my upcoming ACHE seminars on Practical Strategies for Engaging Physicians May 6-7 and July15-16, 2009; the seminar includes new material on physician employment contracts and engaging healthcare professionals in innovation
- I participated in 6 radio interviews and 1 television interview on general topics relating to healthcare; you can listen to them by clicking here (note, the TV interview was taped to air June 6, 2009; more details to come soon)
- I traveled to my mother’s house in Buffalo, NY for Passover, the subject of this post
As many of you know, Passover celebrates the Jewish people’s escape from Egyptian bondage. To me, it represents the hope of Spring and the potential of transforming current difficulty into triumph:
“On this night, long years ago, our forefathers hearkened to the call of freedom. Tonight, that call rings out again, sounding its glorious challenge, commanding us to champion the cause of all the oppressed and the downtrodden, summoning all the peoples throughout the world to arise and be free.”
Our family’s tradition is for my mother to read about the four children, summarized below (the “he” is intended to refer to both male and female children):
- The first kind of child is the wise child. He loves Passover; he is eager to celebrate the holiday exactly as it ought to be celebrated, and he asks his father, “What are the decrees, the statutes and laws which the Lord our God has commanded concerning Passover?”
- Another kind of child is the irreverent child, who is scornful and does not feel as though he is part of the whole celebration. He asks his father, “What does this service mean to you?”
- The third kind of child is the simple child who is naive and very shy. He would like to know what Passover means, but does not know how to ask about it. So he asks merely, “What is this all about?”
- The fourth kind of child is the one who does not even realize that something unusual is going on.
Although my mother refers to me as “the curious child,” in truth, I have been all four children at various times of my life. One of the pluses of being a cancer survivor is that my faith has been tested and strengthened in the process. For me, Passover is a time to reconnect with family and celebrate what unites us rather than being consumed by our differences. I leave with a sense of hope that extends to my work and is especially important in these challenging economic times, where the outcome is certain (we will prevail), but the timing is everyone’s guess.
In the spirit of Passover, what are your thoughts?
- Can you allow yourself to feel any optimism as flowers and trees bloom
- Do you escape from bondage as you complete a task that has been oppressing you
- Can you celebrate the child in you that asks questions, regardless of whether they are wise, irreverent, or naive
As always, I welcome your input to improve healthcare collaboration.
Kenneth H. Cohn
© 2009, all rights reserved
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