Day 4, Entry #9 with Craig Wedderspoon discussing the Bryce Hospital controversy and the University of Alabama.
I am quite excited about the expansion of the campus…with new territory comes new potential, new opportunity, and new ideas. There will of course be lots of issues to deal with along the way, but the big picture should really come down to the issues of education, communication, collaboration, and participation. Through education we are in a constant quest for finding new and original approaches to delivering information and, hopefully, learning to our students. The development of more efficient and effective chances for expanded communication between students, staff, faculty, business, industry, government, and community is crucial to foster growth and maturity in any contemporary society.
Collaboration. Collaboration is a practice, which is a demonstration of the ultimate excise of ego, paving a path for revelation in the discovery of “that really is a better idea than mine”. Participation is a moral constant. Participation is the illustration that right now, someone else is more important than me. Participation is trust in others to do the same.
As Tuscaloosa moves forth into the future, things will always change. The University of Alabama will continue to grow and expand. Patients at Bryce Hospital will soon find themselves accommodated with a state-of-the-art, brand new facility to help them in turn thrive to the best of their ability. Structures will be built and demolished, and landscapes will ebb and flow. Things will always change. People however…therein lies the question. It is not so much maybe how we decide to divide, title, or demarcate the land upon which we live, but rather might this really all be more about how we decide to conduct ourselves while the land itself is generous enough to still allow us to live upon it?
I am a prime example of a person who from time to time demonstrates what most might deem questionable judgement; I am all too familiar with “what the heck was I thinking?” At least I was thinking. I am all too often reminded of one of my favorite quotes, made by someone else who seemed to do a lot of thinking, and often demonstrated what others might have considered a question of judgement:
“There is no limit to what a person can accomplish, as long as they are willing to let someone else take the credit.”
Samuel Clements
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