There are many people in the holistic healing community who are serious professionals, who have put in thousands of hours in practice and study and invested deeply in their education in order to be able to serve the greater community in a superior capacity.
Some of these rare individuals are my friends. These health care providers should be recognized by their communities with an air of respect and be treated with dignity as the prestigious professionals that they are. The education and study, devotion of time and energy, practice and investment should warrant a great celebration and recognition, but it does not.

I am sure what I will describe here plays out in many professions. For this article… I will describe how it shows up in the complementary healing world.

These unconventional scholars who have pieced together a patchwork quilt of traditional healing modalities and expertise in a non-traditionally academic way do not receive a graduation celebration or a diploma. Some of them are beyond worthy of the recognition of an academic higher degree such as doctorate, however they will not receive letters after their name or be properly acknowledge for what they have gone through to embody the knowledge which they generously share. Please know in the same realm there are people who pretend to be this which I describe, but who are not. There are frauds and a little bit of research will usually uncover who you are dealing with.

People who seek to receive care or assistance, consultation or advice from these individuals regularly challenge the reality that these people deserve to be appropriately compensated, if at all, for their time. The phrase “can I steal a moment of your time” will regularly float around.

Let’s explore this phrase-“Can I steal a moment of your time”.
Would you approach someone and say, can I steal $20 out of your wallet, or can I steal the jacket you’re wearing? Why is a the value of someone’s time (that you genuinely desire for yourself) equated to zero value in the field of exchange?
Some people will try to exploit time with these high level persons and not blink an eye, and will actually be offended when there is a fee associated with service or will ask for a discount with attitude. They may even be amazed that there is a charge at all. People would never do this with a doctor or a plumber.

Please understand that if you are wishing to benefit from the expertise of a professional of this caliber, you will need to pay a professional fee. It would not be right to think otherwise.

One thing is for certain, if you don’t value your own time, you cannot value another’s. Hopefully for those who read this… this essay will provoke an inventory of how we all value or do not value our own time.