I ate some cheese cake last night. If I have only read about others experiences about cheesecake, how can I know what it is like to eat cheesecake. Each time I eat it would be a new experience; depending on how hungry, the type of cheesecake, who baked it, what occasion, etc. Not having eaten cheesecake ever is also an experience.
So it is also in the case of life and death; being somewhat “healthy”, I think most of my perspective is on living and very little on dying. Each day I live, I gain perspectives on life and little to no perspective on death. I think it is so as I often find myself planning and fretting about a future which I know not would ever happen. As a result of such preoccupation with the future, I am often asleep to my moment to moment experience.
I am grateful to be a physician; I know now that each time my patients comes to me for help and authentically share their sufferings; I am gifted with the opportunity to gain new perspectives on what it is like to lose bodily function or bits of life which I take for granted. To receive this gift, all I need to be is curious, in the moment and compassionate.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Chapter 2: The Involuntary Thought
... Thoughts arise like mist... Exploring the gentle emergence of thoughts and the sovereignty of sensation in our shared field of presenc...

-
I am grateful for the gifts of each moment. Our conversations are such gifts. While we are here for a while and will eventually go; I ...
-
Remission of type 2 diabetes is a practical diet for primary care. He jumped out of his chair and said “take my picture!” My patient came...
-
I discovered the following exercise that helps me manage my sciatica. It is the only self-administered back decompression exercise that ut...
-
I injured my left knee for the third time few years ago. At the time I lacked a clear awareness or perspectives of why I exercise and over ...
-
My perspectives on the 50 million dollars in the Canadian federal budget for Alzheimer’s diseases. I suggest, by spending 50% of that m...
-
Whether I am in my office or in the emergency department, patient motivated by their sufferings, makes great efforts to present with honesty...
-
I am sometimes asked by patient to prescribe benzodiazepines, cannabis or opioids. My approach is similar for all medications and substanc...
-
I attended a lecture on atopic dermatitis (eczema) by an expert physician. A comprehensive discussion ensued. pharmacological and then...
-
One reason I believe I as a family physician is in a unique position to initiate wellness conversations with patients is because they come ...
-
Only in 1999, OxyContin was marketed with slogan "The One to Start With and the One to Stay with". This foreshadowed the unfortu...
No comments:
Post a Comment