09/09/2020
In my career as a physician thus far, I have had the absolute honor of seeing thousands of people at their most vulnerable, hearing peopleβs honest aspirations and deepest fears, shedding tears with people who have lost loved ones or with whom Iβve had to share devastating news. Despite having seen, heard and felt an incredibly broad range of emotions, stories, fears and honest disclosures...on any given day, I still find myself surprised by peopleβs actions, words and intentions. Both for better and for worse. I share this anecdote with one purpose... We have reached a boiling point with respect to public discourse. We seem to hate, resent, degrade, insult and cancel people who do not appear to agree with us. What Iβm asking each of us to do is simply start with an inch...We tend to be so certain of our view or stance on things that we tend to pre-determine and categorize people before we even speak to them (not text, message, post, etc). And so I challenge you to leave ONE inch in your mind for surprise. One inch between you and absolute certainty. If I can be surprised by human behavior then so can you...keep your heart and your mind open and you just might make some surprising new friends...β€οΈππ½βπΎβ¨