Voices ResourcesA website for the worldwide community around the journal Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy

I began writing this column in a location that reminded me of what I wanted to write about. I was sitting in an airport, having arrived several hours later than planned due to problems with my connecting flight—thus missing my next flight, which meant that I would also miss the final connecting flight to get home.

I was sitting in the Copenhagen Airport, having arrived there 2 hours later than planned, thus missing my flight to the U.S. The flight onto which I was rerouted was then expected to be 2 1/2 hours late, which meant that I would miss my connecting flight and would probably not arrive home until the next day. I was powerless over all of this.

This was only one of several things over when I have recently been aware of being powerless. I would like to share some of my thoughts about being powerless.

The most dramatic reminder of my powerlessness—and that of many others—was the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in late August. This hurricane decimated New Orleans and much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The governmental agencies that people depended upon to help failed, and thousands of people suffered immeasurably. As I watched the tragedy unfold on television and saw people waiting on roofs and in huge buildings to be rescued from the floods, I experienced my own helplessness along with that of our governmental agencies and others who were expected to help. All that I could do was donate some money—even if I had felt that I was in a position to go myself to help, we were told (understandably so) that they did not need more people there. They did not have enough food and resources for the people who were there nor gasoline for the cars that were there, so they certainly did not need more people coming. So I donated some money and reached out by telephone and e-mail to the few people who I knew who lived in that area and were affected. And every day I experienced my powerlessness.[1]

Another situation in which I am aware of being powerless is in some of my hospital work on an oncology unit. Much of the work that I do on this unit is effective, and both the patients with whom I work and I experience the success of music therapy in helping to decrease stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and to increase relaxation. But some patients are referred to music therapy because their nurse feels that they might benefit from it, but when I approach them about a music therapy session, they refuse, saying that they are too tired or in too much pain or under too much stress. The reasons that they do not want music therapy are often the very things that music therapy might help—if they would only give music therapy a chance!! I am frustrated over my powerlessness to help them if they will not let me help. Of course, there are many larger issues of powerlessness when working with people with cancer—many of them are dealing with their powerlessness in the face of their cancer, and I hope and think that I am helpful to some of them in this area.

In the hospital—as in the airport and in the Hurricane Katrina situation—I try to accept what occurs without putting too much energy into being upset. Obviously there is nothing to be gained by being upset and annoyed, so I try to put my energy elsewhere.

The Serenity Prayer, used in 12-Step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, and Gamblers Anonymous, applies in these situations. It is:

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

Much of what we do in music therapy empowers people and, as we empower those with whom we work, we are also empowered. As I deal with my powerlessness in the situations that I have just described, I realize that they are in contrast to much of my life where I do indeed feel empowered.

Note

[1] I should say that there are people who make extraordinary efforts not to be powerless. There are still people who are going to New Orleans to help with the clean-up from the hurricanes.

I was reminded of the different levels of working to have some power during the last U.S. presidential election when an acquaintance was going to Ohio, a neighboring state to my state of Kentucky, to help to register voters who would be likely to vote for John Kerry, the Democratic candidate. When the election came down to one state—Ohio—I thought of this woman and what she had done, wondering if she had made a difference in the voting in that state and, even more, wondering if I could have made more of a difference if I had joined her in helping to register people to vote.

I would also like to say that our U.S. music therapy organization, the American Music Therapy Association, has helped people who have been affected by the hurricane disasters (Katrina, that I spoke of above, and also Wilma, which occurred soon after) by supporting music therapists and students who have been affected; helping them replace instruments, books, and journals; assisting some of them to attend our music therapy conference that was just held in Orlando, Florida; and in other ways. I am proud of the work of AMTA in this area and to be a part of the organization—and that this work reflects power rather than powerlessness.

How to cite this page

Wheeler, Barbara (2005). On Powerlessness. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 12, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=fortnightly-columns/2005-powerlessness