Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 1(1) 3 

Editorial 

Administrative Insights:  Diversity, Chaos, Multiplicity 

Beth Roder, MA, RN, Editorial Board Member 

 

DIVERSITY, CHAOS, MULTIPLICITY.  These are buzzwords for us as we are 

moving into the 21st century.  We as rural nursing people have unique challenges.  As generalists 

we are given the opportunity and challenge to bring a variety of skills and knowledge to people 

who are looking to us as their experts.  At first glance the diversity we may recognize is color, 

creed or nationality.  We must broaden our scope of diversity beyond racial and ethnic 

differences.  Our experience with diversity may lie in the expectations that our clients, patients, 

families, coworkers and superiors impose on us.  And considering the variety of customers each 

of us deal with daily, that too is diversity.  Our ruralness sometimes leaves us feeling as if we are 

not quite in the loop of progress.  When I feel this way at times I refer to Nelson Mendala's 1994 

Inaugural Speech:  

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, 

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 

It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us the most. 

We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? 

Actually, who are you not to be? 

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. 

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people don't feel secure around 

you. We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is in everyone, 

and as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the 

same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others. 

 

 

Yes, diversity, chaos, and multiplicity all are a part of each of us.  We can live with it, 

grow with it, or let it diminishes us.  Let us be liberating to self and those around us. 

If you have questions or comments, please e-mail me at b_roder10@yahoo.com.