Working for almost 30 years to bring people together is by no means easy.
The organisations that were set up before us did not receive unanimous support and, in most cases, they split up for reasons of personal egos and incompatibility. It is now time to ignore these differences of opinion, the schoolyard quarrels, the attempts to seize power, all the animosities of days gone by and to unite at last, properly and permanently, like adults and responsible professional people. We need union at national and European level based on irreproachable criteria and solid, long-lasting foundations.It is time to reach permanent agreement. It is said we learn from our past mistakes when laying the foundations for our future. So let’s build together and move together, once and for all. We have wasted far too much time and energy, building and demolishing, assembling and dividing. Let’s think positive. Let’s use our past mistakes and build true, effective cohesion between practitioners exercising in the areas of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. Life means movement and dynamism. Things have to move on, but on bases in which everybody can find an anchorage point. Luckily, diversity exists – but there are also things in common. Let’s use what we have in common to organise our fine profession, this communion of traditional thought. For thousands of years, billions of humans have studied and used extraordinary, exciting, efficient knowledge. Today, even if it seems incredible to us, it still has to prove its worth and become more organised if the profession is to be recognised.
The monopolies of our modern world are well organised in Western countries and protected by laws that favour them. Divisions between professionals allow them to continue to dictate their laws. Only massive national and European UNION can lend weight to a request for regulations.
We must create quality through a minimum core curriculum, the testing of knowledge in common examinations, advanced courses to improve our skills, serious ethical and professional criteria, adequate professional liability insurance, legal protection etc. All this requires common sense, work, time, patience and friendship but it must be done together, in a spirit of tolerance towards differences and without any animosity, fear, ulterior motives, jealousy, discouragement or anything else that would hinder real effective union.
The work that has been done thus far has already met with some outstanding successes. Now that we are on the right track, we should not stop – we still have a long way to go. But if our daily lives emphasise all that is TRUE and CLEAN, we shall reap the rewards. Be brave and determined, my friends. The door is ajar. Good ideas are always welcome. And the involvement of all is necessary, in an orderly measured manner. Even if we are all independent spirits in our profession, nothing prevents us from standing shoulder-to-shoulder in our dealings with the authorities. Singly, we are nothing. So inform those who do not yet know it that the profession is organising itself. This is part of our duty and it is essential before we can claim any rights.
Jean-Pierre Guiliani
