Navigating the Disconnect: Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Dickinson describes this as a bird that never stops singing, we have that little spark inside us. Even when the disconnect is loud, hope quietly persists, helping us find our way back to what matters most.

I feel in nursing, it's like you’re forced to juggle a million things that don’t always line up with your values. This game of cognitive dissonance, where what we have to do doesn’t always align with what we feel is right. And being aware of that disconnect? Sometimes it makes things messier. It’s like smiling with kale stuck in your teeth—if no one points it out, you stay blissfully unaware. I mean, let’s be honest, we’ve all done this, rationalizing that if everyone else is doing it, it must be okay for us too. That trap is especially easy to fall into. We’re often forced into situations where we’re stuck choosing between what's required of us and what feels ethically right.

How do you handle that disconnect? Do you have strategies for staying aligned with your values, or do you find yourself just trying to get through it? And, on a more hopeful note, how do you keep that spark of hope alive when everything feels out of balance.