The Finishing Touch
(Jun 1994)

I am sitting by the river bank as I prepare this rough draft. I find that I am struggling to write this column: the deadline is near and I have so many things to do. My vision of a ‘Holistic Health Care Centre’ is no longer just a dream, the renovations have started and I want to be there every moment, making sure everything is thought of to make it as comfy and efficent as possible. Even choosing the front cover picture seemed a challenge this month but finally decided to continue with the theme for the past several ISSUES and show the other side of the barn.

The Spring Festival of Awareness is over. Every year it gets better and more organized, which means more paperwork for everyone including me. My crew makes it possible for me to keep co-ordinating it and allows me to observe the bureaucratic process in action. I find this fascinating as it helps me to understand why rules and regulations are set in place. I am starting to understand why the government does so much paperwork. Being involved in a collectivethat uses consensus for its decision making process also teaches me about the creative process and our limits.

I have found a building to lease for a Holistic Health Centre in Penticton at 254 Ellis St. It is located in the quiet part of downtown and has a creek on two sides of it. The Centre will have a workshop area, space for practitioners to rent for their sessions and an answering service for practitioners who want help in booking their appointments. We will be open for business July 3rd. Our new phone number will be 492-5371 or read the ad on pages 24 and 25 for more details. ISSUES will also move into this downtown space during the summer.

Starting this September ISSUES will be published ten times a year, monthly except for a combined issues for Dec/Jan and July/August. I know it is time for the move but I have mixed feelings, for it means I will have to depend on people to help me, but it will allow ISSUES to grow and become more main stream as more people seek alternative types of help. I invite everyone to drop in and check out my new office and the ‘New Holistic Health Centre’. You can say hi to Jan, my receptionist, and Sue who will be helping with advertising and distribution.

I enjoy being busy and am delighted that my child-rearing years are over. My kids do keep coming home once in a while and I enjoy seeing and hearing the change in them, but our life styles are quite different so we don’t share a lot of time together. This frees me to spend more time getting involved in healthcare awareness.

Government has shifted its policy, wanting to give healthcare back to the people and get them involved. They admit that they have lost control of healthcare costs and that people have to start taking more responsibility for themselves. This opens up a lot of room for people like me, who think there is a better way. Educating people and leaving the choices open will help to create services while funding shrinks and the dollars become limited. Technology has become very expensive and must be chosen carefully if we want to make a sucess of overall care. I think the government has made a wise decision and I support them one hundred percent. Changing the healthcare system will not be an easy task, but it is one that I would like to be involved in. It will take time and co-operation amongst people with ideas on how to better spend the funds available and I will keep you informed of what I observe in my future ‘Musings.’

This month’s front cover shows a back view of our barn. Phillip and David, the two oldest boys, are peeling the logs that will be used to divide the barn up into compartments for the animals and to make fences to keep them close by. The photo from last month showed the front view with the ramp built for a tractor to haul hay onto the top floor. My parents had the barn built against a hillside so that the hay could be delivered and stored easily. When we wanted to feed the cows, all we had to do was pull back on the trap door and drop the hay down into their stalls that were underneath. Near the barn in the same bank was the root cellar. Every winter, we cut ice from the lake and had it hauled into the cellar and covered it with sawdust. It was our refrigerator, and it amazed me how some of the big blocks of ice stayed pretty much intact right through the hot summer, as long as no one left the door open. It was fun digging around in the sawdust to find carrots or a bottle of root beer that someone had forgotten.

I think back to my childhood once in a while for I am told that that subtle programming is very strong in our bodies. I know how busy we were kept as children just doing what seemed to be necessary, and today I seem just as busy. As I have probably mentioned before, I feel like I am still in school. Having a downtown office with a receptionist and distributor makes me feel that I have just graduated to high school, a time of greater expectations from myself and my teachers. For me starting high school was a time of more responsibility as I worked two part-time jobs and had money to spend on the things I wanted. Publishing a magazine, organizing a festival, doing promotional work including TV interviews is my educational process now. I seem to prefer to be taught this way rather than through traditional academics and I think my upbringing in self-sufficiency has helped me to think this way. It has certainly provided a good foundation for my learning to do things! Listening to the babble of the creek and enjoying the quietness of country living is still my way to recoup and relax before returning to the business of the world and doing what needs to be done.

Many thanks to my many friends who donated $1651 dollars. So far, it is being used to renovate the building. Your energy has helped to manifest a vision that I have had for several years. If you can think of a name that you think is suitable to call ‘The Centre’ give me a call at 492-0987; otherwise it will probably be called the Holistic Health Centre. Please drop in and check out the facility after July 3rd. If you are a practitioner interested in renting space give Jan a call 492-0522 or our new office number 492-5371. We will be having an ongoing fund raising drive with tickets available for bodywork sessions, home-made drums and other prizes. Be sure to attend our GRAND OPENING September 10th & 11th.