Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

Zen of Teaching

Floaters by Richard Ratzan

They bounce before the eyes, an aqueous scene
Of watery blobs, amorphous shapes, the size
Of lazy jellyfish or vaseline
Balloons, translucent shards of vitreous

Revolting gladly to secede from me
To bob and float in the aquarium of my eye.
My eyes now see within the nervous sea
Of light and seen these shades glide idly by.

What can they feel, drift as they do, resigned
Within another I to watch his seen
But not to ken, as shadow seen, but blind?
They only are, not will; they’ve never been.

I tolerate these inert beasts in me
Theirs is to float and be, mine is to see.

Image from www.eyeinstitute.co.nz

Richard Ratzan is a poet, a classicist and an ER doc.  Electronic Mail.

 

Here's a good review on Floaters from eMedicine.

How to Prepare for a Good End of Life

This six minute TED talk is by a layperson, Judy McD Johnston.  In her words: "I am not a geriatrician. I design reading programs for preschoolers. In the last few years, I helped two friends have the end of life they wanted. I learned a few things about how to have a good end of life. At the end, our bodily functions and independence decline. I found that with the right people and a plan, our quality of life can remain high during this time."  For more see her website: goodendoflife.

This Link will enable you to see the talk in a full screen.

She Battled the Breast Cancer Industry

May 20, 2013 – NY Times:  Barbara Brenner, Breast Cancer Iconoclast, Dies at 61.  by Denise Grady

Barbara Brenner, who led the group Breast Cancer Action and shaped it in her own combative image, pillorying the medical establishment, industrial polluters and even other cancer research advocates, died on May 10 at her home in San Francisco. She was 61.

Full NY Times Obituary.

Ms. Brenner wanted her obituary to say "she died after a long battle with the breast cancer industry.”

Odyssey of a Native Son

Since the days of Ulysses, people love to invent road trips.  Three years ago, Dylan Dethier, an 18 year-old Mount Greylock graduate, decided to defer admission to Williams to embark on a golf odyssey of self-discovery that would take nine months, had a budget of $6,000, required sleeping in in a Subaru, and provided a regular diet of PB & J sandwiches, plus at least one round of golf in all 48 contiguous states?

Dylan's book on this classic journey, 18 in America, was published on May 21st.  His first book signing will be at:
Water Street Books
26 Water Street
Williamstown, MA
May 24, 2013
4:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Lofty Goals

An elder said:
If you see a young monk by his own will climbing up to heaven,
take him by the foot and throw him to the ground.
What he is doing is not good for him. 
Zen Instruction

 

Rite of Passage

My poem, "Rite of Passage," was written for my fiancee's brother, a childhood friend.  She and I helped him get into recovery three years ago. At the onset, he was hospitalized for some time.  I wrote this for him during that time to help him understand that I knew what he was going through, that I had been there too,  and that I cared.

for my friend, Brian

The only way back to the other side,
Is through a swamp full of hell,
It's a wicked rollercoaster ride,
One that only the true can tell,

The bravest of men will try,
But only the strongest will prevail,
In a boxcar full of demons,
Racing on a slick and evil rail,...

for full poem: Download Rite of Passage

William Lightfoot bio:  Download Lightfoot Bio

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