Thinking Away From the Box

There are benefits and drawbacks to being a divergent thinker. Now, I am not always the best at thinking about different or new ways to do things, but I try. It is not always easy to identify when things should just keep going the way they are going and when things should be shaken up a bit...

So, there is a hot topic on Music Therapists Unite going on right now. I offered my rant yesterday about why people should be members of their professional organizations. Since then, I've cooled off a bit about that particular topic, and now I am thinking about other ways to do things. In addition, I have some other projects going that are requiring thinking about the status quo in a different way.

So, as far as the idea of how to get people involved more in the National Association, several folks have suggested a rolling membership payment scale. I wonder how that would work. Would membership fees be based on salary? Would membership fees be based on need? How would we establish such a thing? How would we evaluate each member's level of need? Everyone will always be unhappy with how much they would have to pay, especially when the therapist sitting next to them has to pay less. So, how would that work?

One of the problems with walking away from the box of established thinking is that you start to feel that your path is the only path. You can start to think that you are the "SAVIOR" of the situation. There are people who feel that their solution to any situation is the ONLY solution, and they start to act like bullies towards anyone else who stands up to them. I am guilty of this, but I try to recognize when I am moving towards bully status and move away from that role. (I hate bullies.) One of the things that has to happen with any paradigm shift is a conscious recognition that change is difficult, slow, and scary and people will resist.

There will always be people who don't want to change. There will always be people that want to change, but only change into their own utopian view of what the future should be. There will always be people who just go with whatever happens. There will also always be people who have different ideas that are just as valid as any other, but who will not be heard or acknowledged. There will be people who leave and there will be people who join both because of the change.

As for membership dues, I feel still feel that, if you want to be considered a professional, you must be a part of your National Association. It doesn't matter what type of professional you are. You should be linked to other professionals in the way that is available to you.

My professors used to say, "Would you ever go to a doctor who wasn't certified or a part of the AMA?"