Zen Artistry in the Modern World
About Us
Rick Gershon
I’ve had the privilege of being an educator; first as a high school teacher at Rice MemorialHigh School in Burlington, Vermont and later as a University Professor at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I often say that what I learned about teaching – I learned from my five years as a high-school instructor at Rice. 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 satellites operating in geosynchronous orbit 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.”
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 Introduction). Zen Buddhism, especially its practices and philosophy, has 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. They can engage anyone in conversation, and like water, fill any container to which one is poured. 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?
Welcome to Zen Artistry in the Modern World.
Casey Gershon
I come from a long-line of healthcare professionals starting with my grandmother who was a nurse and my mother who was
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 discovered that healthcare workers have the most challenging of professions. They 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.
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 from the past (from Appalachia to Kalamazoo…) in creating this entirely new rehab. program. I absolutely loved my time there because it gave me a chance to help create a rehab. program that was uniquely special.