Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

The Importance of Empathy

Sam Richards starts this important piece on empathy with these words: "What is sociology?" And I tell them, "It's the study of the way in which human beings are shaped by things that they don't see." And they say, "So how can I be a sociologist? How can I understand those invisible forces?" And I say, "Empathy. Start with empathy. It all begins with empathy. Take yourself out of your shoes, put yourself into the shoes of another person." 

This talk is 18 minutes, and really helps me when I interact with others, be they family, patients, strangers.  If you have a few minutes, visit "A Radical Experiment in Empathy." You will be enlightened.

Star Magnolia

very brief --
star magnolia blossoms
punctuate the Spring

Marginal Notes: Night Landing

 
Sunset Flight © by Barry H. Penchansky, M.D.

Night Landing

Above her toes, from where she lay
Reclining at bed’s edge,
She glimpsed a light pass through the night
Above the window ledge.

The plane began its last approach,
A beacon locked it in—
The landing gear would next descend
And brace against the wind.

Blue lights would then come rushing up—
The runway in the night
Would suddenly materialize
Within the captain’s sight.

The plane would drop down at the last,
Wheels screech against the earth;
Air brakes up, flaps hold fast,
Into its final berth.

She wondered how the end would come—
She prayed she would take flight
As wheels against the tarmac run:
A knock, a lurch—then light.

Copyright 2011 © by Brian T. Maurer

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Marginal Notes: Town Meeting

 
Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell

I was exhausted from the six-hour drive home through the rain from Pennsylvania. I unloaded the car, stowed the gear, sorted through the mail and grabbed something to eat. The town meeting convened at 7:00 PM.

It was a short walk down to the local church. The parking lot was full. People filtered into the building, pausing at the small desk to sign the petition before ascending the stairs to the main parish hall.  more»

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

No Ashtrays, No Souvenirs

Reknown potter, Toshiko Takaezu, died in Honolulu on March 9, 2011 at the age of 88.  Born on June 17, 1922, in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, the middle child of 11, her parents were Japanese immigrants from Okinawa.

She was strongly influenced by her study of Zen Buddhism, and regarded her ceramic work as an outgrowth of nature and seamlessly interconnected with the rest of her life. “I see no difference between making pots, cooking and growing vegetables,” she was fond of saying. Indeed, she often used her kilns to bake chicken in clay, and dry mushrooms, apples and zucchinis.

“You are not an artist simply because you paint or sculpt or make pots that cannot be used,” she said. “An artist is a poet in his or her own medium. And when an artist produces a good piece, that work has mystery, an unsaid quality; it is alive.”

Full NY Times Obituary.

In 1975, Takaezu had a workshop at Kauai Community College which was organized by Wayne Miyata.  Martha Elpern was one of the participants and has these fading photos in an album.

 

Marginal Notes: Two nights in the woods

 
Pine Creek, Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania

As I read through the five-day forecast, my spirits sank. A winter advisory was in effect: perhaps three to five inches of snow, giving way to a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain, high winds and thundershowers—not the best prospects for cooking over an open fire and sleeping in a tent on the forest floor.

Still, I had taken the time. Already the clocks had been set; there was no turning them further forward or back. The time was now. We decided to proceed with our plans.  more»

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

2011 Fall Conference

See Program Web Site

Missing Light

by Beth McKim (PDF reads better Download Missing Light )

At times I long to be young again ---

when a bright red pimple on my chin was ugly, not life-threatening
   and a friend falling was funny, not the beginning of the end---
when depression meant one night of tears and sad music,
not a debilitating disease---
while double vision meant too much to drink, not a brain tumor.
When a fat stomach meant too much lunch, not middle-aged spread
   and achy legs meant growing pains, not blood clots
     An elevated heart rate meant running too hard,
     not atrial fibrillation---
when late night phone calls meant a lover missed me, not a death
and losing a spouse meant a breakup, not a funeral.
 
And at other times I savor peace that comes with age and see new light.

 

Poet Bio:  Beth McKim lives in Houston with her husband and their Labradoodle, Lucy. She enjoys being a student of creative writing and Spanish. A former marathon runner and triathlete, Beth is still an avid swimmer and Yoga enthusiast. She particularly enjoys her part-time job as a medical actress and the time she spends with her new grandbabies.

Marginal Notes: The art of treating the synapse

 
Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel ceiling detail

Why have the last several generations of children born in the U.S. suddenly developed ADHD, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder in epidemic proportions? Has there been some sort of random genetic drift at work on the molecular level in this population? Or could it be that we are dealing with a medical paradigm shift — the way in which we consider what constitutes the origin of illness in human beings?  more»

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."