Back In The Saddle Again

I will be the first to admit that I am probably the last person to quote a singing cowboy by the name of Gene Autry. However, the eloquence of the song title is a fitting sentiment today. Here I am, long-lost readers, returning from what seems like an abyss of time, academia, and … life.

I promised myself that silence on these pages simply wasn’t going to be an option again. However, when I uttered those words, I didn’t have a road map for what was ahead of me. As I have written many times before, life brings us challenges and changes and opportunities. It also provides us with epiphanies and reflections which can be incredibly valuable if we pay heed to the lessons that can be learned. Two years on from my last post, I am back in the saddle again.

When life happens, you pay attention. If there is one thing I have learned, we are presented with opportunities that don’t always appear to be consistent with what we thought our plan should or would be. In other words, you never know where life is going to take you - but there is some really cool stuff to be found if you keep your eyes open. This has been a life experience that I seem to have been fortunate to repeat many times. The last couple of years has been no different.

Little did I know that the past two years would have me entering the world of academia full-time as an assistant professor in a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program (and please note, the views expressed here are always mine and not those of any other entity). I’ve continued with my clinical practice - I mean, you can take the clinic out of the man but you can’t take the man out of the clinic (or something along those lines). Just when you thought that was enough learning for now, I embarked on a journey toward a Ph.D. in Education. After teaching anatomy for 15 years, I found I had a few good questions to ask and a gap in the literature to fill. Details on that journey will appear here soon enough. I can honestly say it’s not about the letters, it’s about contributing to something far greater than myself.

That’s important for all of us: something far greater than myself.

After 31 years of a career, I have earned a rather unique view on the world of physical therapy and health and health care. With that longevity comes the role of being a steward of the profession, to guide it and nurture it and foster the development of a new generation of forward-thinking professionals. Being a steward of the profession demands doing the right thing, and not just the right thing now. That takes me back to two quotes that seem to keep returning to my consciousness lately. First, “if you don’t tell it like it is, it will stay like it is”. Second, “if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything”.

Let’s do the right thing. And let’s start right here, right now. Let’s stand for something, something big and audacious, something that reflects the truth and power of who we are. You don’t have to be a physical therapist to do that.

I’m back in the saddle again - and I hope you’ll join me.

Photo credits: Allan Besselink

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