One of the reasons I chose chiropractic as a profession is that I like to fix things.

I think I got this from my mother. Whenever I asked a question, she had an answer.

Sometimes, it was a wrong answer. But to her, that wasn’t the important thing. The important thing was to have an answer. To be of service.

She was letting me know she was there.

Bless her heart: I don’t think she knew she was doing it.

I think her mother also had an answer for everything.  I didn’t have the privilege of knowing her mother very well, but the family stories suggest that answers flowed like water from MeMa O’Grady.

It was her way of showing she cared.

Being of service has always been a strong calling in my family, on both sides. We have a rich tradition of spiritual leaders, former police officers, writers, health care providers, volunteer caregivers, teachers, veterans, artists, musicians, etc…in our family.  The O’Gradys and the Fitzpatricks have a history of service, and of wanting to serve.

Of course, I adopted the habit. Being of service drives everything I do.

So I know that of which I speak when I say, you don’t always have to fix the problem.

The important thing is not always the answer.

The important thing is being there.

My patients brought that lesson home to me over the years.

When I first got into practice, I thought I had to know everything. That I had to have all the answers.

The first time I was able to bring myself to say, “I don’t know,” was a huge relief.

Sometimes the subluxation — a subtle, physical interference to the nervous system — manifests because of an emotional block, like the feeling that we are facing our challenges alone.

Chiropractic is like that. When the nervous system is free to express itself, sometimes what happens along with the physical release is a revelation.

When that happens, I have learned that my place is to witness and hug.

We don’t know how to fix everything.

None of us do.

None of us really know what its like to walk in our neighbors’ shoes. None of us truly understand the perspective of our children, our partners, our parents. None of us can fix all of the others’ problems.

We all go through transitions that are painful, sometimes irreversibly so.  It is the way of things.

Some things cannot be fixed, even if we desperately want to fix them.

Sometimes, all that’s required of us is our presence, to witness and to let the one in pain know that we are there.

Be love. Be there.

I know this message will reach someone who needs it today, right now.

Trust me.

Be love. Just be there.