The Processes of Life

"Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art. It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided." - Paracelsus The achilles heel of reductionism is the almost inevitable loss of perspective on the whole that …

Continue reading The Processes of Life

The Art of Healing

"The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore the physician must start from nature, with an open mind." - Paracelsus I had the good pleasure of spending most of the day yesterday with my friends and coworkers at the Spa on Green Street in Gainesville, Georgia. We had an employee development …

Continue reading The Art of Healing

The Speed of Life

If increasing the speed of life was the primary purpose of living, I imagine many more people would feel fulfilled in living than do at the end of their fast-paced lives. Pace is not always secondary to quality, as is the case when you're crossing the street on foot and a car comes speeding toward …

Continue reading The Speed of Life

Genuine Goodness

"Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us." ― Louisa May Alcott, Little Men I had the good fortune of spending yesterday morning deep underground in Chattanooga, Tennessee. …

Continue reading Genuine Goodness

Coincidences

Yesterday afternoon I was out running errands and one of them was proving to be especially challenging to complete. Due to a comical tale that I shall not retell (to protect the anonymity of the perpetrators), our hummingbird feeder was in need of repair. The glass feeder had separated into its constituent parts (luckily none …

Continue reading Coincidences

Capable of Becoming

"If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming." - Goethe Any fool can criticize or spurn another for his shortcomings; the wise man never loses sight of where those around him could be, …

Continue reading Capable of Becoming

A New Dawn

"To Waking", To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, John O’Donohue I give thanks for arriving safely in a new dawn, For the gift of eyes to see the world, The gift of mind to feel at home In my life, the waves of possibility Breaking on the shore of dawn, The …

Continue reading A New Dawn

The Promise of Life

“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” - Helen Keller Pessimists are by nature doubtful and suspicious of the unknown. Optimists, on the other hand, tend to be trusting, often to a degree not warranted by the factors at …

Continue reading The Promise of Life

Fountain of Love

"There is within each of us, at the soul level, an enriching fountain of love. In other words, you do not have to go outside yourself to know what love is. This is not selfishness, and it is not narcissism; they are negative obsessions with the need to be loved. Rather this the the wellspring …

Continue reading Fountain of Love

The way you look at things

"The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life." ― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom If you are of the mindset that your circumstances shape your life more than any other factor, then it is easy to justify lapses in perspective and judgment as being …

Continue reading The way you look at things