Sri Lanka 2005 - Turning up

My first experience of something ‘different’ was on the first World Medicine trip to Sri Lanka in 2005 www.worldmedicine.org.uk . From day one, this trip turned all my clinical acupuncture ideals upside down. We arrived at a Buddhist temple that was being rebuilt in Matara, where we were greeted by a solitary monk in the deserted car park. I was nervous, my mind was going crazy. The obvious thoughts around what would face us: So many people, so much trauma, the dirt, the heat etc., etc., But more than that, after all this build up, all this effort…would they want us? Would they want strange foreign people sticking needles into them? Why would they? What if there’s nobody here wanting treatment? Ok….let’s run away!

The monk walked us down a slope to the Buddhist building site and asked us “How many people will you be hoping to see today?” “Oh you know, let’s see, we can start slowly, perhaps more will come later in the week, blah blah blah” came our bumbling replies.

To which he cheerfully told us “ There are 500 waiting, is that enough?” Day 1, Buddhist building site, 6 of us, 500 of them, should be fine!

Those first days were a blur, what you take away from those situations is that if you want to ‘help’ you have to drop processes that you have hung onto for a long time and drastically adjust others: Organisation, appointments, structure, equipment, feedback, cleanliness, quiet, language…it goes on and on. Now that sounds like a bad thing, but it’s not. It frees you up, concentrates your mind, somehow that chaos gives you more focus than a quiet sterile environment ever could. It allows you to fully focus on the person in front of you and what you can do for them in that moment. You don’t have a choice. Somehow you end up with specific (the patient) and peripheral (the rest of the room) focus. Then as you go through this chaotic process you find your practitioner mind takes over, your treatments become very precise, very clean. You fall back on what you know, the knowledge and experience you have. Then in the brief moments when you can stand back and take a look, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll see that you wouldn’t have done much different if you had more time and space. You just get on with it and move yourself out of the way.

During our welcome spe

eches by local dignitaries one thing really stuck in my mind. Sunil, one of the UK-Sri Lanka supporters told us, “It’s very impressive that so many of you have brought your different skills to help the people in Sri Lanka. But the thing that you should all remember, the single most important thing you have done is to TURN UP”.

Introduction

I have been an acupuncturist since 1997. I felt incredibly lucky that at a, relatively, young age I seemed to have found my thing. Then, after 8 years of acupuncture practice in the UK I felt an intense need for something different.
In 2005 I handed over my practice to a colleague, sold my house, threw everything up in the air and headed to India in the hope of finding a new way to work. I had absolutely no idea how, or indeed if, this might come about.



The intention of this blog is to record some of my experiences and thoughts since that time. On a journey that has taken me from my appointment book, desk and electric couch to a commute through razor wire and dug-outs, to multi-bed/chair/bench/mat/mud-floor acupuncture. To slum acupuncture, to slum best man, to slum gangsters are here you’d better run! Then, mostly, to having the absolute honour of sharing acupuncture and friendship with the residents and staff of a home for the victims of human trafficking in Mysore, India. From then on being known as “acupuncture brother”, “lazy brother” or “crazy brother”. To the privilige of being educated as to the true strength, compassion and forgiveness of women and children that have been let down time and time again. Finally, of constantly needing to re-evaluate my opinion on what it means to be of service and who is helping who.