Hi, my name is Adam Fiore. I am the academic advisor at NHC. There is not a day that passes at the NHC where I am not blessed with an open, honest and simple exchange. Be it a teacher with a passion for their craft that is contagious; new students inquiring with questions that reflect their search for an education that speaks to them; or a student exploring what no separation really means. In each exchange there is a spark, an evolution so evident and palpable that I’m reminded of the twenty years of care and holistic teachings that infuse the NHC into each new day. This truly is a place of learning. And it is in each of these moments that I am humbled by someone choosing change, embracing the unknown and listening for the profound. I look forward to sharing some of my experiences.

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Dear NHC blog reader,

My name is Inge and I’ve been working at the NHC not much longer than three months now. So I’m no NHC veteran and I’m brand new, but I do feel I have something to share with you about how I came to work here.

So let me tell you my story. In June 2009, I thought I had graduated from McGill University with a B.Sc. in psychology. I hadn’t. I had one more class to go. My life wasn’t progressing as I thought it would and I went through several months of what I can only call “post-graduate bumness”. I lived with my parents, I made virtually no money and I was angry at the world for not being the way I thought it should be. It seemed unkind, unappreciative of my schooling, and honestly…dumb. For that period of my life…I retreated into myself and the world and I didn’t speak the same language.

But it couldn’t last too long (although it felt like it’d never end!). I had met an NHC student on a 10-day meditation silent retreat I had gone to. We met only once after, but it was an important meeting for me. After listening to my exasperation at my “uselessness”, she spoke to me with the exact right words: “Well, …maybe you’ve been working on something big all this time. You just don’t know what it is yet!”. Somehow, those words, from this almost-a-stranger’s mouth infused me with hope and goodwill. I felt she was right. I felt the time was right for that “something big” to manifest. And it did.

A few days after this meeting, I had a vague notion I should check out the NHC website. This friend had mentioned it briefly.

Synchronicity of synchronicities, there was a posting on the website: looking for an office coordinator. Now… I didn’t know much about natural health, I’d never worked in an office, I’d never worked full-time, I felt only moderately adequate for the job, but I still applied, and let myself become enthusiastic. I sometimes briefly wonder why, but I was given the opportunity to work and grow here. (The opportunity isn’t being wasted. I feel like just being here permits me to soak up a bit of the knowledge and wisdom that passes through these walls).

… and that’s what I wanted to share. That’s how my NHC learning journey started. If you’re moved to share yours, I’d be all ears (or eyes, as this is a blog after all!) and feel free to post your story in the comment section!

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Hi there!

 This is Inge again and I feel inspired to tell you what it’s like working at the NHC today. We have a section on our blog with exactly this title so why shouldn’t I, what’s holding me back?

 It is 4:46pm right now. 47 minutes ago I was in the healing journey class, taking on my…well… healing journey. Just now, the teacher, Anant, just came up to the office to check in with me, say “good afternoon”, and after a little sigh and shake half-jokingly added “Ah poor you! You have to work after this class! How is it thinking linearly?” I spontaneously responded, “well who says I have to!”

 Sure, administration requires a lot of linear thinking. Nothing wrong with that. It helps us get stuff done. What I’m coming to realize, though, is that it only brings us so far. No matter how many processes there are in place, no matter how controlled our environment is, things in life (and in an office) require our active participation, our ability to improvise! Things happen in parallel, a phone call will put you on one track, an e-mail on another and that annoying task that needs to be done will be looming in the background of your mind. What I want to say right now, is that instead of thinking of all the things that we should be doing, and how we should be doing them, it’s liberating to trust in what we bring to the equation, to what our little quirks and differences might add to the rigid process. We’re already good at what we do, so let’s just trust in that.

 Once, when I was getting stuck in the whirlwind of harsh self-judgment, someone very wise said this to me this summer and it changed the way I think about my job: “Inge, they hired you, not some frozen robot version of you. The question isn’t “are you doing it right”… the question is: “What are you bringing that’s great?””

There’s no denying it. I’m blessed to work here. I’m blessed to do the work that I do, and I’m blessed to have the freedom to be creative. What I really want to say, though, is that although I do have that freedom, I don’t always perceive it. I’d been feeling trapped by the tasks, by the projects, by the requirements of a job. Today I changed my mind and it’s good. I’d like to invite you to ask yourself that same question: “What are you bringing that’s great?” (and if you don’t think there’s anything…well… you know what? That may just be fine too.)