What a blast I had at the recent convention of Black Nurses Rock in Biloxi, Mississippi. I was invited to give a morning welcome address and the conference’s closing keynote, something I have done quite a few times for various organizations. But there were some elements that made this event especially exceptional.
BNR is a relatively young organization, founded in 2014 to provide education, mentorship, professional development and support. With a membership of nearly 200,000 and 43 chapters in the US, Caribbean, Canada, Japan and Germany, it’s the largest minority nursing association in the country.
So, let me just confirm that these mostly women and some men do indeed rock! They brought an energizing spirit to every session, due in no small part to a fantastic DJ who tapped the pulse of the group, delivering music that intuitively suited the different moods throughout the day and evening.
Music is such an essential part of life. For African-ancestored people it is part of our DNA, nestled deep in our bones.
We use music to align ourselves with the seasons, commemorate special events, accompany ceremonies and rituals, raise or calm the energy, broadcast moods, convey hidden messages, tell stories, make jokes, fall in love and usher intimacy, set a unified rhythm for work, marshal courage in the face of war or danger, and transcend to the heavens.
Music is the rhythm by which we live our lives and it powerfully carried us through from the beginning to end of the conference.
The other special ingredient was the slight turn of phrase that signaled a re-dedication of the organization’s mission. We noted the definition of rock as movement, swaying, shaking and astonishing, and moved to the one connoting a foundation, consolidation of matter, and support.
Then BNR’s new president, Dr. Bruce Walker anointed the gathering with his spirit-filled and heartfelt mission statement, that BNR is no longer just an organization, it is a ministry.
With that word, a renew sense of urgency captured the group. They wholeheartedly embraced this new assignment as exemplifying the kind of love – agape – with which they embrace the communities they serve.
And not just an outward embrace. They demonstrated their sense of ministry with each other as professionals, as health care activists, as family.
As I watched, conversed, laughed, ate and danced with them, I thought of how a reaffirmation of mission might enrich other businesses and organizations with which I am involved.
It doesn’t have to be a restatement that is done overtly, or with the whole group. I realized it can begin and end with me. How I re-establish my own commitment to the work I do from a job, chore or obligation and into a vocation, a calling, a quest will make a profound difference in my life. I can move to a deeper level of loving the world around me, and a stronger sense of commitment to being a brighter and more fulfilled expression of my life’s purpose.
