Story #3: The Changing Nature of Life

          Change is an inevitability. From the moment we are born, we are thrown into a world that is constantly changing around us. Every creature, by nature, will oppose change because it goes against their daily routine. Many people struggle to adapt to change, not Jane Barton.

          Last Tuesday night The LaSells Stewart Center at OSU hosted Dr. Jane Barton, MTS, MASM. She is an enthusiastic writer, speaker, listener, and founder of Cardinal, LLC, a consulting firm dedicated to educating people in the hardships of comforting the old, ill, and disabled.

          Barton opened with a simple question for the crowd, "Do you welcome change?" The murmuring crowd was silenced and few nodded their heads. It's amazing how such a simple word is capable of causing such a noticeably discomforting reaction.

          With little response from the now tentative audience, Barton said simply, "In order to achieve continuity, we must be willing to change." The manner in which Barton said this was so matter-of-fact, she made it sound as if it were obvious, very convincing. According to Barton there are four types of change, cognitive, physical, relationship, and spiritual. Each of these changes we experience is just a transition. "The best part about transitions is that they provide opportunities to discover yourself...to integrate change into our lives," said Barton.

          Everyone, young and old, worries about what tomorrow has to offer. Our world seems to revolve around this one concept, adapt to survive, for "change is the norm." Barton understands the changing nature of life as well as how to handle it. Now at age 55, she has seen both of her parents taken by cancer and knows the journey of care-giving.

          Perhaps the most challenging period in time for Barton was the "year of the hard hat,"when she had to deal with a divorce while moving out and caring for her father who had also had a stroke. The most difficult part for her though, was the fact that she hadn't yet gotten over the death of her mother years earlier. The only thing that helped Barton through that year was "the little voice of hope, of a divine." We all find hope in different places but that doesn't change the fact of life, it is the first thing given to us and the last thing taken away.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Barton...
Phone: 865-688-0661
Email: jbarton0829@yahoo.com
For more information visit her website.
http://www.drjanebarton.com/