percolating
i've been thinking a lot about what i want to make happen in my life. especially now that i don't have a job, and it's looking more and more like i'll be able to support myself by liquidating some (a lot!) of my current (non-college/non-retirement) assets, i feel like i have the opportunity to make some things happen a lot sooner than i would have otherwise. specifically:
i'm pretty sure i'm going to need some way to supplement my income from my homeopathy practice, at least until i build a large enough patient base to support myself and my girls. to that end, i'd like to become a massage therapist. it's a great complement to homeopathy, it makes people with (chronic) pain and injuries feel better, and it satisfies the touchy-feely nurturer in me. serendipitously, motivationally, physorg.com had this positive blurb about acupressure being better than physical therapy for back pain. there you go, some added oomph!
the institute of conscious body work came highly recommended, so i'm attending their open house later this week. i'm also going to visit both the acupressure institute and the national holistic institute. my goal is to complete the (equivalent of the) advanced body worker certification by the end of my third year at the ICH. that way i can earn money (and experience!) with a new/beginning massage practice while simultaneously completing my fourth year at ICH and, possibly, pursuing the conscious body worker certification.
i'd also like to incorporate pro bono (or very low cost) patients into both my homeopathy and massage practices. that will be more straightforward with the massage, i think, as i expect there are opportunities to provide pro bono services through organizations like the multiple sclerosis society, for example. how to provide free homeopathic care though? that will be more difficult. will low-income families in my community be interested in free homeopathic care? what about a shelter? i need to do some investigation on my own, and also talk to other homeopaths to find out what they do. one kind of pie-in-the-sky idea i have is to establish a "homeopaths on wheels" type of thing (similar to doctors on wheels or the people's grocery mobile market), and recruit a few of the other students or graduates to participate. we'd need a bus or motor home to use as portable office space, and we could target specific neighborhoods, shelters, halfway houses, etc.
long term, after my girls are off to college (assuming they're both going to go), i'd like to do some work with homeopaths without borders. i can barely see that far out into the future, though, so other than having an idea that i'd like to participate in a humanitarian aid effort, i have no concrete plans for executing on this one. i just need to learn as much as i can, and gain as much experience as i can, so that i'm well prepared for training and placement with them when the time comes.
from an educational perspective, i'm actually considering doing an undergrad program in biochemistry and biophysics. i can hardly believe i'm thinking about it, letting alone saying it "out loud". i hated science when i was in school, and only did the minimum amount to ensure a B grade, but studying homeopathy has made me curious. i want to understand as much as i can about how it works, and how better to do that than to learn about science and math? ooooh, i get all excited and shivery just thinking about it. of all the ideas i have and goals that i'm setting, this one scares me the most!
so, even though i do feel quite nervous about what i'm doing from a financial perspective, i feel increasingly pleased about my prospective accomplishments. my plan for the next few years (and beyond) is coming together nicely, thanks in large part to that asshole ex-boss of mine, since he was the one who sent me packing with enough money in my pocket to allow me some thinking time, out of which i'm developing a much more direct path for achieving my goals. who'da thunk it? maybe i should send him flowers and a thank-you note!
i'm pretty sure i'm going to need some way to supplement my income from my homeopathy practice, at least until i build a large enough patient base to support myself and my girls. to that end, i'd like to become a massage therapist. it's a great complement to homeopathy, it makes people with (chronic) pain and injuries feel better, and it satisfies the touchy-feely nurturer in me. serendipitously, motivationally, physorg.com had this positive blurb about acupressure being better than physical therapy for back pain. there you go, some added oomph!
the institute of conscious body work came highly recommended, so i'm attending their open house later this week. i'm also going to visit both the acupressure institute and the national holistic institute. my goal is to complete the (equivalent of the) advanced body worker certification by the end of my third year at the ICH. that way i can earn money (and experience!) with a new/beginning massage practice while simultaneously completing my fourth year at ICH and, possibly, pursuing the conscious body worker certification.
i'd also like to incorporate pro bono (or very low cost) patients into both my homeopathy and massage practices. that will be more straightforward with the massage, i think, as i expect there are opportunities to provide pro bono services through organizations like the multiple sclerosis society, for example. how to provide free homeopathic care though? that will be more difficult. will low-income families in my community be interested in free homeopathic care? what about a shelter? i need to do some investigation on my own, and also talk to other homeopaths to find out what they do. one kind of pie-in-the-sky idea i have is to establish a "homeopaths on wheels" type of thing (similar to doctors on wheels or the people's grocery mobile market), and recruit a few of the other students or graduates to participate. we'd need a bus or motor home to use as portable office space, and we could target specific neighborhoods, shelters, halfway houses, etc.
long term, after my girls are off to college (assuming they're both going to go), i'd like to do some work with homeopaths without borders. i can barely see that far out into the future, though, so other than having an idea that i'd like to participate in a humanitarian aid effort, i have no concrete plans for executing on this one. i just need to learn as much as i can, and gain as much experience as i can, so that i'm well prepared for training and placement with them when the time comes.
from an educational perspective, i'm actually considering doing an undergrad program in biochemistry and biophysics. i can hardly believe i'm thinking about it, letting alone saying it "out loud". i hated science when i was in school, and only did the minimum amount to ensure a B grade, but studying homeopathy has made me curious. i want to understand as much as i can about how it works, and how better to do that than to learn about science and math? ooooh, i get all excited and shivery just thinking about it. of all the ideas i have and goals that i'm setting, this one scares me the most!
so, even though i do feel quite nervous about what i'm doing from a financial perspective, i feel increasingly pleased about my prospective accomplishments. my plan for the next few years (and beyond) is coming together nicely, thanks in large part to that asshole ex-boss of mine, since he was the one who sent me packing with enough money in my pocket to allow me some thinking time, out of which i'm developing a much more direct path for achieving my goals. who'da thunk it? maybe i should send him flowers and a thank-you note!