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Spring, May 19, 2017 |
| Dear Patients, |
| Spring has sprung! Here are a few updates: |
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| http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/primary-care-has-lost-its-quarterback-position-patient-care?page=0,2 |
| I hope my sentiments are clear in the article: you can count on me to be there for you – in the office, after hours, in the emergency room, or at the hospital. |
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| A king once wondered if peace could be depicted, and if so, what would it look like? He announced a grand prize to the artist who could paint the most apt picture of peace. Several artists from his empire came up with beautiful paintings. Some had drawn birds and the vast sky. Others had painted the calm ocean while many the dense forests. After much deliberation, the king shortlisted two paintings he felt were the closest representation of peace. |
| One painting was of a calm lake. Perfectly still, it was surrounded by colossal green mountains. There was a blue expanse overhead with fluffy white clouds. An old tree with its boughs extending several feet over the lake stood quietly. The king’s courtiers and his subjects voted that it was the perfect picture of peace. |
| The other painting had chaos written all over it. While this too had mountains, they were rugged and bare. The sky was dark gray with silver streaks of lightening and it was raining heavily. A mammoth waterfall was tumbling down from a tall mountain. Everyone was puzzled to see this as one of the shortlisted paintings. But then, the king asked them to look closely, to examine more deeply. |
| Behind the waterfall, a young bush was growing in a fissure in the rock. There it was, sitting peacefully, in the midst of the rush of roaring water, on the bush, a nest where a mother bird was feeding her little ones. Unafraid. As if in perfect peace. |
| The king gave the prize to the second painting. “Because,” said the King, “the first painting is attractive, but it’s not real. Peace doesn’t mean a life devoid of adversities, troubles and challenges. Instead, it means to be surrounded by all of these and yet have faith and be calm. That is the real meaning of peace.” |
| Most of us want the painting of our life to look like the first one, but almost always life hands us the second one. The first painting is our expectation from life and the second is the reality of it. And, peace lies in reconciliation of the two. You can’t stop the rains or the foaming waterfalls, but you can find your nest of life on the bush of faith, of acceptance, of good karma. I’m reminded of a beautiful quote I read once. |
| “For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. |
| At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” |
| When the going gets tough, when life stretches you, take it gracefully. There’s no point in complaining or whining. Remind yourself that it’s the rainy season that you must persist and remain focused, that when one door closes a hundred others will open. Sometimes the rainy season may last longer than expected. So what? Sometimes the door may not open soon enough. So what? This is life. |
| The sooner we understand and accept this truth of life, the happier we will be. On our journey, sky won’t always be blue nor mountains green. The days won’t always be sunny nor the nights starry. The oceans won’t always be calm nor the rivers flooding. And, that’s life. For whatever it’s worth, this is what it is. A journey of happiness, of peace. |
| Wishing you good health, |
| HAO |
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Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Maryland School of Medicine Office: 410-910-7500 Fax: 410-910-2310 Cell: 443-324-0823 |
