The Place Itself
In Father Gregory Boyle’s book The Whole Language, he describes the concept of The Place Itself when talking about moving closer to, and being in kinship with people unlike ourselves.
“It is our longing and natural inclination for our arms to stretch out as far as they can reach. Relational wholeness is a thing we arrive at when we move past the description of the place and hold out for the place itself.” (pg 231)
Another way to think about the above quote might be this:
You have heard things about going to New York City. People have told you stories, you’ve read books, follow Humans of New York on Instagram, and read the NYT every day. But you haven’t been to the place itself. Your view of New York City is in the description of the place. But, wow, if you go there, or live there, or lean into the space, you actually discover the place itself is so much more beautiful and interesting and quirky and jaw dropping. Then, you stay there for years and years and years- well, that is an intimacy that can’t be matched.
I’ve been rumbling with this idea over the past year that was hard for me to put into words… until I read this quote.
It was this simultaneous pride at work but also imposter syndrome. Not imposter syndrome about being a full-functioning medical provider, but imposter syndrome that the motivation behind the work I am doing is wrong. And at the very worst, even selfish?
In general, I feel called to work on the margins of medicine. I have known this for a solid decade now. I spent many (many) years honing that interest and preparing for a career there. To the best of my ability, I concluded where I wanted to work and spend my time, and then I worked on preparing to be in that space (reading books, talking to mentors, volunteering, intentionally going back to that space over and over and over). I have not done this perfectly, and I am just starting out my career, but I have a true peace in my current job working for a community clinic serving uninsured patients in a large metroplex city in our country.
It is fulfilling, challenging, and good work. I am surrounded by incredible coworkers who, daily, emulate empathy and love and kinship with our patients. I feel at home in this space and with these people.
However, I’m always questioning- is this enough?
Am I practicing medicine from the description of the place? The description of the work? The “community clinic serving uninsured individuals” spot?
For if we practice from the description of the place, we are missing out on relational wholeness. We are missing out on the whole picture. We are not truly in the place.
Now, broadly speaking, this is all difficult. It’s a big question, half thought out, that I’m writing about to you, today. I also might be a bit hard on myself (we are working through that).
But the sentiment is still important- how do we move from the description of the place to the place itself.
We could expand that out to so many other areas of society. Meeting people with different thoughts than you, who look different from you, were born in a different country, or speak a different language.
I gotta say, when I moved to Texas from the Midwest, I definitely was living in the description of the place. I’m slowly but surely moving past the description of the place and holding out for the place itself.
How do I have relational wholeness with my patients and community? How do we move to the place itself as practicing medical professionals? How do I move to the place itself as a citizen hell-bent on being a good neighbor. How do we truly be with, instead of just near.
Well, proximity, actually, is a good place to start. Intimacy breeds empathy. Nearness begets understanding. Staying gives rise to belonging. I’m lucky to have countless examples of colleagues and friends who strive to move past the description of the place.
What does this look like?
It looks like one of my colleagues living in an underserved neighborhood with our patients, by choice, to be in the place.
It looks like another colleague of mine leaning into the place of adoption…. and choosing to adopt siblings nonetheless.
It looks like another colleague of mine having a bad experience in community clinics, and still coming back to them because he felt called to this work.
It looks like another colleague of mine inviting a patient to Thanksgiving dinner with his family because he knew the patient had nowhere to go that year.
When we move past the headlines and tagines and income level and housing status and citizenship status and vaccination status and hometown and whispers on the street…. We get to the place itself. Relational wholeness. Kinship. Safety. Love.
I don’t know if I’m there or not, but I know the place I want to get to.
The place itself.
