Brave Enough To Be Bliss

Ginger Bliss Facebook Post Call it coincidence, karma, the universe, manifesting, God or whatever you wish…but regardless it’s a clear sign there is so much crazy goodness in this world. Monday, I felt a nudge to share the email below I sent to hospital leaders a decade ago on LinkedIn in case it could inspire an exhausted, defeated health care leader. Today my hairstylist of 20+ years, Angie, who doesn’t ever look at LinkedIn (and I posted it nowhere else) and wasn’t even sure if she had a profile or not, handed me a rose as soon as I walked in for my appointment. I’ve been out of town for three weeks, so she was already being sweet to come in and cut my hair when she hadn’t planned to work on this day. I was stunned and speechless for a moment. While I managed to get thank you out, my mind was spinning. What are the chances right after I just posted this LinkedIn message that she hadn’t even seen?!?! When I explained my shock, she said last night she saw the roses at a grocery store and if you bought one a donation was made to veterans. She bought one and told her daughter, “I know just who I’m giving it to.” I was stunned and still am. I credit it to being a God wink, but whatever it was,

we need more of this in the world. May you feel as grateful for all the people in your world as I do! ❤️

And thank you again, Ang! I love you so much and am very grateful to have shared all these years with you in my life!

Previous Ginger Bliss LinkedIn Post I ran across an email I sent to hospital leaders in May 2013. I kept it because it touched hearts then and I hope it does today. While the Patient Perception of Care results are an important quantitative measure of how we are serving our patients, it's important to remember they are only a tool, not the way we motivate our staff. We monitor results, we set goals, but we motivate our associates by helping them focus on the individuals they serve, the lives they touch. One of the most important parts of our roles as leaders is to remind our staff why they chose health care, reconnect them with our mission and understand what inspires them. The challenges of working in health care can feel disheartening. Trying to balance fiscal responsibility while maintaining a safe, secure, high-quality environment and doing it all with a smile on our faces can feel like a daunting task. But it can and must be done. “Sometimes it's easy to lose faith in people. And sometimes one act of kindness is all it takes to give you hope again.” Randa Abdel-Fattah Last week, I read a Facebook post about a five-year-old girl who for her birthday asked to give a rose to people she saw who looked like they needed their day brightened. The mother who shared the story was, of course, amazed by her daughter’s selfle ss gesture, but also by the reaction of the recipients. This story reminded me of how little it truly takes to make a difference in someone’s life. I will never forget the nurse who, even though I hadn’t said a word, was observant enough and cared enough to brin g in extra pillows to make me more comfortable and then “tucked” the blankets in around me and helped me feel safe, warm and not so alone in that hospital room. In reality, it didn’t take her more than a couple minutes, but it is an experience I will never forget. She touched my life as I’m sure she has done countless times since with other patients. “A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” Steve Maraboli I often wonder how many times we miss the opportunity to bless someone else and at the same time bless our own lives through a simple act of kindness. “For it is in giving that we receive.” St. Francis of Assisi Kindness is defined as the act or the state of being kind, being marked by good and charitable behavior, pleasant disposition, and concern for others. It seems to me that everyone who chooses to work in a service industry should inherently possess kindness. But work and life have a way of bringing out the best or the worst within us. Our patients are trusting us to walk into our facilities each and every day and take care of their clinical needs, but also to be kind to them when they are at their most vulnerable. “With one kind gesture you can change a life. One person at a time you can change the world. One day at a time we can change everything.” Steve Maraboli A stylist works to make people look and feel fabulous, and regardless of what my hair looks like, there hasn’t been a time I have left Angie’s presence and not felt fabulous. She has a way of making every person who sits in that chair of hers feel like they are fabulous inside and out. She genuinely wants to know about you, your life, and your joys, and your pain doesn’t scare her one bit. She asks the best questions and there’s seemingly nothing that can surprise her, shock her, or phase her. She is as accepting and loving a person as they come, and I have been beyond blessed to know her all these years, not to mention have her manage my hair. Mom Sherri is like that, too. People just naturally want to talk with her, open up to her. She can be anywhere, and someone will inevitably end up telling her their life story. She may be running behind sometimes, but oftentimes it is because she takes time for whomever needs her whether it is a phone call, someone stopping by unexpectedly, in the checkout line at a store or in a restaurant. She takes the time to notice people, to compliment them and make them feel seen. She has the uncanny ability to create connections between her heart and theirs, and that is a rare and very special gift. * I also provided a 101 random acts of kindness list and a single red rose to each of them to give away or keep.

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