A journalist once asked musician Jack White what advice he would give younger musicians. His response was candid and pointed: “Being an artist means you have to work harder than everybody else. It’s a responsibility, 24 hours a day. I think about it all day long. If you don’t already have that inside you, like it’s uncontrollable, I don’t know what to tell you.” [emphasis mine]
Though White’s comments are about musicians, I believe his take can be applied to just about any profession. Substitute “artist” with “massage therapist” or “bodyworker.” How does that make you feel? Do you identify with it? I’ve certainly met practitioners over the years who are passionate about touch and helping clients find connection, relief, and recovery.
Do you have that bug inside of you too? Good.  
This issue of Massage & Bodywork is chock full of likeminded massage therapists and bodyworkers with an uncanny drive to do: to create, to write, to start up, and to challenge conventional thought.
Take Kerry Jordan and Lauren Cates. Upon meeting them for the first time, a warm and witty congeniality comes through. Ask them about Healwell, their 10-year-old team of MTs providing care for children at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and you see their eyes light up. Jordan and Cates have a real passion for educating practitioners about the meaningful integration of massage therapy for oncology, palliative care, and complex needs patients.
Educator Pamela Miles wants to set the record straight about reiki as a spiritual practice, rather than how it’s typically thought of as “energy work.” This 33-year reiki veteran is driven to correct misinformation about this profound practice.
Robyn Scherr and Kate Mackinnon are passionate about ethical standards and developing clarity for MTs and client interactions. They tackle the difficult stuff: being honest about your skill level, scope of practice, and unearned touch.
And Jenni Jo McLaughlin. Well, just read our article about her mobile Peace Pod practice and watching her dreams come to fruition.
I recently observed a massage therapist working on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado, a four-block pedestrian stretch of the city with restaurants, boutiques, and vendors. The practitioner was still hard at work, even as the sun faded and other vendors had already packed up for the day. She was finishing up a chair massage and speaking with her client, educating them about the benefits of touch. It was powerful to witness her commitment.
I see myself in this practitioner and the authors in this issue with that “uncontrollable” urge. Several years ago, I had the good fortune to meet someone I admired: David Granger, then editor of Esquire magazine. He chuckled when I told him, “We steal every great idea you have.” What Granger didn’t know was that over the years, when each new issue of his magazine arrived in the mail, I’d flip right to his editor’s letter because he always had an interesting take on topics and relayed a drive to succeed. And I’d come to admire the photo he used in every magazine. The image was simple. It was an action shot of him putting on his sports jacket. Without a photo caption, without explaining what was going on, it said everything: “Let’s get to work.”

Darren Buford
Editor-in-Chief
darren@abmp.com