patience is a virtue

patience is a virtue is an easier said than done phrase. I personally tried on a little experiment where I promised to remind myself to be patient every time my heart races and I feel like an outburst of rage coming. They were a lot of successes but there were a couple of downfalls to which I have somewhat established my threshold or rather the one thing that ticks me off without leaving a space for me to put thoughts of remaining patient into.

What I have noticed is that, most people I know are easily carried away by labile emotions or anger and rage when they are TIRED. It is as simple as being tired, that gets you to succumb to emotions that you are able to keep well under control when you have had enough rest or at least sleep. For some being rested would also mean having a good meal and enough fluids to keep the body healthy. In medicine we were taught in our first year, that a spiritual body with a healthy mind, is a body that has good physical health overall. However, when good physical health isn't accompanied by good mental or spiritual health, the body (or rather person) is said to be NON-healthy. And yet it makes me wonder, despite having had this knowledge from my first year in med school, it did not in any way influence the hours of rest I have devoted for myself. I have deprived myself of a healthy diet, healthy exercise, adequate amount of water per day to keep me hydrated, and most of all, I have always deprived myself of sleep! Most med students are used to staying up late putting in that extra hours of study when really a healthy time table can be conjured up so we could avoid strenuous practice of medicine, while preaching medical treatment or plans in the name of hypocrisy.

Having said that, let me add also that the medical facilities (hospitals, clinics, etc) albeit having tried various methods on reducing the number of accidents (medical accidents) that take place, have failed to reduce the number of hours required for a physician to work. Physicians worldwide have been trained from the time in med school that working life isn't going to be easy but rather one should get used to the number of sleepless nights as that is one of the requirements of being a physician.

Some of you who work in developed countries' medical facilities might rebut my views on this because perhaps your facility has reduced the number of hours you are required to work in order to produce healthier, less tired, more patient physicians who are able to make wise medical decision. However, this sadly isn't the same in developing countries, where the believe stands that, a physician that can train itself to sleep a mere 4 hours a day, is a physician who has the most experience (I call it experience based on the number of mistakes they may have done!).

Going back to the topic of patience is a virtue, no matter what your job title is, no matter what your stand in life might be, if you could truly control your mind and avoid falling into the traps of anger and hasty decisions, then my friend, you have allowed your mind and body, a healthy diet of peace and rest. Shalom!!

The birthing process

For the first 4 years of med school, I  thought a doctor's job was all about being able to crack what disease a person had and prescribing the right medicine. It still is actually.. :).. only it's not as hard as I may have thought it was. There's a whole thought process that we can follow to get us to our diagnosis. Of course, years of reading, hours of sleepless nights, and endless reading has to take place before we can feel comfortable enough to be in the RIGHT thought process.

Nevertheless, the best part of being a med student for me was when I became an intern. Being an intern allows us to put our knowledge to practice and it helps us recognize diseases or syndromes clinically rather than from a theory stand point. In theory, the birthing process seems very ritual, but in reality, seeing one can seem scary at first. And when I finally got the chance of handling a delivery myself, it was then, when I thanked my lucky stars this was the profession I chose. Albeit seeing the baby cry for the first time is truly a breathtaking moment, I only wish there was an easier way to enable child birth without having the mother go through a process so painful and risky, that her live has to be at stake.

If this short experience has taught me anything, it is to think twice before I actually decide to want to marry anyone... :)..

Nonetheless, I am hoping for more wonderful experiences that might change my mind into believing that this brief torture (the birthing process) is just part and parcel of life (although I doubt I'd change my mind that fast)

What the new year means to me..

A new year can mean a lot to many people, which is why Hallmark pays their employees a handsome amount of money to come up with the simplest words to describe how one would feel about the new year or rather to help those in need of a line or two to wish their friends and family well (because coming up with the words "Happy New Year, May God Bless you", takes a genius with a good paying salary). I've always been under the impression that New Years Eve (NYE) was a day one should never celebrate alone. This year however was different for me. I tried to remember the NYE celebrations I've had in the past and tried to remember how I felt on all those occasions (I've got a pretty good memory!). And at all the times (at various places/countries), I remember always feeling the same way... LOST!

Why was I lost? I always wondered if what I was doing in life was the right thing. Sometimes I'd wonder why we had to do any of those things we were doing, be it studying, working, hanging out with family, friends. Why is it that we do these things? Then I start to question my very being and I get so confused and feel so alone. I mean, aren't we all alone on this planet anyway? We find what little comfort in the arms of family and friends, but really, aren't we alone most of the time anyways? If you can't agree with this, then savor this.. when you are reading a book or thinking of something to do, aren't you alone up in your head? We're up in our head or lost in our own thoughts most of the day, so in essence, we're all alone on this planet. So why is it that we 'think' we need others in our lives to conjure up relationships we feel are needed?

Anyhow.. this year I spent NYE completely in undeniably of what laid in front of me. Without the distractions from surroundings, I reminisced on all my goals and what was needed of me to achieve them. After much thought, I came to realize that I too have become a victim of society or the rules made by society. I found myself judging the way I had chosen to live my life alone when I forgot that the very essence of this choice was to enable myself to concentrate on achieving my world's greatest. Soon after I didn't feel bad for myself for spending NYE alone, watching a movie and reading a book. Thereafter I actually felt glad that I had taken some time off to spend with myself in the name of appreciation for all that I've been through.

I do not oppose of the idea of spending NYE or for that matter any holiday with family and friends, rather I feel what we miss most is taking the time off to appreciate ourselves. Who could appreciate ourselves more than us truly?