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Rick Gershon

I’ve had the privilege of being an educator; first as a high school teacher at Rice Memorial High School in Burlington,  Vermont and later as a University Professor at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  I often say 
that whatI learned about teaching – I learned from my five years as a high-school instructor.  Today, some 40 plus years later, I have come a long way from running off blue-ink ditto master copies in the teacher’s room to being able to call-up satellite images operating in real time on my laptop computer.  During my time at WMU, I became very interested in media business strategy and technology innovation.  I have always been fascinated with the power of a good idea and the people that
make leading-edge products and services.  The best innovators have natural curiosity about their environment. 
They are keen observers of human behavior and one’s natural landscape.  They are forever asking the question; what if… 
The real game-changers are those people and project teams willing to juxtapose various idea combinations in order           
to see what happens.  As author Steven Johnson once wrote, “a good idea is really a network of possibilities.  A good idea    spawns’ infinite connections and opportunities.”  That curiosity has stayed with me throughout my career.

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Zen Artistry in the Modern World harkens back to my days as an undergraduate student in Japan.  There, I spent time studying the principles of Zen Artistry and traveling the Japan countryside.  (See The Road to Zen Artistry).  Zen Buddhism, especially its practices and philosophy, have profound implications for today's world.  With its emphasis on mindfulness, simplicity, and presence, Zen can offer  a counterbalance to the fast-paced, often chaotic, and distracted nature of modern life.  The Zen artist is fluid in change.  Like water, they  can engage with the world around them and adapt to whatever container they encounter.  While my professional life has been spent exploring communication, technology and innovation, my earlier experiences in Japan taught me to look at that same world differently — to appreciate simplicity, discipline, craftsmanship, and the importance of being fully present.

 

What if you could create a 21st century digital website that combines the ancient wisdom of the past with the demands and applications of modern day living?  This website is where those two paths meet.  It is a journey that Casey and I look forward to sharing with you.
 

Casey Gershon

I come from a long-line of healthcare professionals starting with my grandmother who was a nurse and my mother who
was a Professor of Nursing (and RN) at the University of Vermont as well as an uncle who was a Cardiologist.  My mother would sometimes introduce me as “she was almost a nurse.”  Instead, I made the unpardonable sin of becoming a trained speech pathologist who specialized in augmentative communication.  I got my start in Vermont working in the schools.  
But the real game changer, for me, was the two years I worked as a speech pathologist in the foothills of Appalachia. 
I worked for Southeastern Ohio Hearing and Speech and did rural speech pathology from the backseat of a white Chevy Chevette.  It’s fair to say that speech pathology was only a small part of the demands of working in southeastern, Ohio. Appalachia taught me the importance of being resourceful at a time when there was limited Federal funding and resource support.

 

I left Ohio and later became a manger of rehab. services at Mass General Hospital in Boston.  I went from having limited
resources and equipment to having pretty much anything I needed.  During that time, I began to develop a specialty in augmentative communication which involves creating methods and tools used to help people communicate when their
natural speech is not enough or is lost entirely.  This can include a range of techniques from low-tech (writing and picture boards) to high-tech (computerized speech-generating devices).  In 1990, Rick and I moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan and
I became the manager of rehabilitation services at Bronson Methodist Hospital.  I was responsible for overseeing physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech in both acute care and outpatient services which included 7 location sites.  
Along the way, I received my Masters in Business Administration from Michigan State University in 2005.  One of the things that I loved best about my work was helping to mentor my supervisors into becoming successful managers in their own right. 

 

During my time at Bronson, I came to understand just how challenging the healthcare profession can be.  Healthcare
workers are expected to work long hours while demonstrating compassion and care for the patients that they serve.  
Nowhere was this more evident than during the Covid-19 pandemic.  While healthcare practitioners are among the most disciplined of working professionals; they are often some of the unhealthiest of individuals, facing enormous amounts
of stress in their lives.  As part of my work, I created a practicum entitled Healing the Healer: One Step at a Time which
was a six-week health fitness program.  It explores the unique challenges faced in the field of healthcare, and teaches
techniques to address those challenges head on.  The program also included my early work with Nordic Walking,
an activity that continues to be part of my interest in health and well-being today.

 

Starting in 2015, I was asked to oversee the start-up for a new Bronson rehab. facility located in Battle Creek, Michigan. 
Here was a chance to apply the many lessons gathered along the way (from Appalachia to Kalamazoo… ).  I absolutely  loved my time there because it gave me a chance to help create a rehab. program that was uniquely special.  Looking back, much of my professional life has been about helping people find ways to communicate, adapt, and thrive in challenging environments.  Perhaps that is why I am drawn to the idea that Zen artistry is not simply about what we create, but about  how we approach the world around us.

                                                       

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We see Zen Artistry not as a retreat from the modern world, but as an opportunity to look at that world with greater intention. Technology and innovation encourage us to experiment, adapt, and imagine what comes next.  Zen artistry reminds us
to slow down, pay attention, and appreciate the value of what is already before us.  For Casey and me, those ideas are not opposites.  They are complementary ways of engaging with the world.

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                    Welcome to Zen Artistry in the Modern World.
 

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