Daily Gratitude: Wow. What a simple sentence. What a simple concept. If you look at this closely, you can see how people who love one another could eventually end up hating the other. Hate is a very distorted form of love. But think about it for a bit. Think of something you hate. I don’t hate them now but I used to say I hated the Red Sox. Why? Because I so loved the Yankees that I wanted them to win against all odds. If I didn’t love the Yankees so much, would I have Even cared about the other teams? Probably not. It was that fierce love that brought about the opposite feeling. A more easily understood example is the couple that seems so in love but who eventually ends up separated but remain great friends. Take a few minutes to think about things you’ve loved and how that has changed. I used to love running but since I was sick in 2016/2017 I can’t do it anymore. I still love it and now I have to do the closest thing – walking. I love walking now but didn’t used to. It took losing one thing or a part of one thing for my emotional attachment to switch to the thing that’s closest (walking). My love took a different form – it didnt go away.

Daily Gratitude: This quote contains great wisdom. Unfortunately, though, like most other wisdom, we humans seem to think that we know better. Better than someone else; better than the universe; just plain better than anyone or anything. It’s sad but true. We fear what we don’t know. But where did that come from. I don’t think we’re born with that or else babies would never walk or get into all the things they shouldn’t. So they must learn to be fearful, right? The adults are the ones who teach them to he afraid of things. And they do it so much that many children end up afraid of everything. It’s imposed on us by ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, not universal law. If we can just remember that we’ve been taught to be afraid, then maybe we can teach ourselves not to be afraid. It takes work but it’s worth it. Write down what you’re afraid of and see if you can figure out where that fear came from and why it’s still ruling you. Understand that and I bet your fear will eventually decrease. You just have to be willing to work for it.

Daily Gratitude: One 2 minute interaction taught me more about communication than I’d learned in school. When I say the word “iris” what do you think of? What pops into my mind immediately is that part of the eye called the iris. This is understandable since I’m in medicine. But there were two other people in this “iris” conversation. One thought we were discussing flowers and the other was convinced the discussion was about some computer system. None of us had bothered to define the term we were considering so the other two were left staring blankly. This was the best example of not knowing what playing field the other person is on. In your daily conversations whether they are big or small, important or not important, make sure you define the topic you want to be discussing. Give the other person the best chance to understand and learn from you, rather than giving you that “deer in the headlights” look. When engaging with another person picture an iris and that will remind you to make sure your definitions are understood by the other.