Inspirational sayings…Who am I?

• Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work.
  - William Arthur Ward

• We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.
  - Swami Vivekananda

• What you see depends on what you’re looking for.
  - Anonymous

• You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be.
  - Lou Holtz

• You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world.
  - Unknown

• If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?
  - Rabbi Hillel

• Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.
  - Doris Mortman

• Give it all you’ve got because you never know if there’s going to be a next time.

- Danielle Ingrum

• You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others — something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.

- Albert Schweitzer

• To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.

- George Macdonald

Life…and dawn

Today is the first day of rest of your life…

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

-Kalidasa

Life is short but great…Happy Gudi padwa, Ugadi and Cheti chand

The girl in the picture is Katie Kirkpatrick, she is 21.  Next to her, her fiancé, Nick, 23.
The picture was taken shortly before their wedding ceremony, held on January 11, 2005 in the US.
Katie has terminal cancer and spend hours a day receiving medication.
In the picture, Nick is waiting for her on one of the many sessions of chemo to end.

In spite of all the pain, organ failures, and morphine shots, Katie is going along with her wedding and took care
of every detail. The dress had to be adjusted a few times due to her constant weight loss.

An unusual accessory at the party was the oxygen tube that Katie used throughout the ceremony and reception as well.
The other couple in the picture is Nick’s parents. Excited to see their son marrying his high school sweetheart.

Katie, in her wheelchair with the oxygen tube, listening to a song from her husband and friends.

At the reception, katie had to take a few rests.    The pain did not allow her to stand for long periods.

Katie died five days after her wedding day. Watching a woman so ill and weak getting married and with a smile on her face makes us think…   Happiness is reachable, no matter how long it lasts…

Life is short, so break the rules

Forgive quickly, Love unconditionally, Laugh truly

And never regret anything that made you or others smile…

Life is not always the party we expected to be

But as long as we are here, we should smile and be grateful…

So Happy Gudi padwa…, Happy Ugadi…Happy cheti chand…And above all happy today the 27^th…

God bless you…

Life and Death quotes

Don’t strew me with roses after I’m dead.
When Death claims the light of my brow,
No flowers of life will cheer me: instead
You may give me my roses now!

-Thomas F.Healey

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

–Romans 8:39, 39 (NIV)

…when we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.

-Sogyal Rinpoche

The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive – perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine.

-Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960

Death is not the greatest loss in life.  The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.

-Norman Cousins

Have the courage to live. Anyone can die

-Robert Cody

So many people tiptoe through life, so carefully, to arrive, safely, at death.

-Tony Campolo

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,
totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming-
WOW-What A Ride!…

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.

- Delicious Ambiguity. Glida Radner

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, and a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

-          Alfred D. Souza

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.

-Abraham Lincoln

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain.
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

-Emily Dickinosn

Death and Physician…

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
(Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!

-Mary Frye (1932)

Words really cannot express how sad I feel. My heart is overwhelmed with sorrow after hearing the news of her death in an accident.

It seems like yesterday, Preeti was sitting in my clinic with her husband, for some abrasions on her face and nose following a minor accident, she was very anxious about marks on her face…she was curious like a kid- ‘doctor scar won’t be visible…?’…  ’are you sure it will fade away with time…?’ And I said – ’sure it will’…

I know time is best healer for deepest wounds…but at this moment I can not say whether it will heal the scar your death has left on the hearts of your near and dear ones…

I pray for her family during this difficult time, to remind them there are many people who care and share their loss in this difficult time of sorrow.

My heart prays for you… for your husband…for your parents…

The death of a loved one is a difficult time. Death and bereavement are often poorly dealt with by clinicians…Clinicians are taught with medicine…but medicine is as much an art as it is medicine… Doctors find dealing with relatives difficult because of poor training in communication, fear of being blamed, or fear of expressing emotion.

Physician’s responsibility for the care of a patient does not end when the patient dies. A condolence letter or sympathy letter can help ease the sorrow felt by the grieving person eventually helping with healing process. It shows that we too are human…while learning tough techniques and precision of modern medicine we are not making a robot of our soul and we do care…we do feel …and we share the journey traveled by our patients…

Letter should be written the way we would normally speak to the person. It is not to show your great writing power, it is to express your feelings…

These guidelines for writing condolence note or letter can be used-

1. Acknowledge the loss and the name of the deceased.

2. Express your sympathy.

3. Note special qualities of the deceased.

4. Include a memory of the deceased.

5. Remind the bereaved of their personal strengths or special qualities.

6. Offer help, a specific offer.

7. End the letter with a thoughtful word, a hope, a wish or expression of sympathy.

A good condolence letter is one that speaks from your heart. Just remember it is more important to express thoughts and feelings about the loss than following any script or formula. It is a way of conveying respect for the departed and reminding families of the importance of the relationship between physician and patient… Condolence notes show your concern and that you care…

Love the child…

Bitter are the tears of a child: Sweeten them.
Deep are the thoughts of a child: Quiet them.
Sharp is the grief of a child: Take it from him.
Soft is the heart of a child: Do not harden it.

Pamela Glen-Conner

When a child  screams and ocean of tears tries to drown you…your heart breaks and you hold your child close to you but do you ever feel the pain for the child who sheds silent tears alone…looking for someone to care for him/her…to love him/her…

There are children who do not enjoy the proper rights of childhood, Every single day, life is a battle of survival for them…

We often tend to think that what one person can do to make a difference… but believe me every single help is going to create a difference upon their lives. Let us start somewhere…show them that you care…

Do not worry about why problems exist in the world — just respond to people’s needs … We feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without that drop. – Mother Teresa

Sponsor a kid…Show that you care…

Visit www.worldvision.org a site dedicated to help children around the world in different ways…

You can show your love in so many ways if you really care for kids…especially under privileged kid, for their basic needs…food, education etc…

Ways to show that we care…

(Photograph from- http://www.sxc.hu/photo/746592)

There are 25 million orphan children in India…(just take a look at some heartbreaking facts at (miracle foundation) .

Situation of orphan children in India is devastating; think for a moment and try to feel for the child who is not sure whether he will have a meal today  or adequate clothing to wear. Think of  the pain and fear a child feels on awakening in the middle of the dark nights…all alone…

Adoption is not the only option and sometimes there are practical problems but you can wipe away the tears from eyes and give smile to them…you can sponsor a kid, you can donate money or needed items or simply  you can be part of awareness to your friends and society…like the one I found at Miracle Foundation. org

Kid’s Expressions…Captured moments…

Kids say it all without uttering even a single word…

Look for me…can you see me now sis… Oh’  am I visible?…

Who is the smartest…?

Nail in the fence…words hurt…

There once was a little boy who had a bad
temper.

His Father gave him a bag of nails

and told him that every time he lost his

temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his

anger, the number of nails hammered daily

gradually dwindled down.

He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to

drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the ! day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the

boy now pull out one nail for each day that he

was able to hold his temper…

The days passed and the young boy was finally

able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the

hand and led him to the fence He said, “You have done well, my son,

but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.

You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.

It won’t matter how many times you say “I’m sorry”, the wound is still there.

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole…