In medical school, much of what we are taught is about words -- what words mean, when theyre used, how theyre translated. From day one, were invited into a world of vernacular that seeps with the remoteness of argot. Its almost like learning a foreign language from an instructor speaking a foreign language. And with that comes a daily struggle of attempting to remember last weeks words, learning yesterdays words, and, of course, trying out todays words. But after a long day of swimming through this sea of words, I came across a few that really hit home. These words -- roughly translated -- were as follows: Parh parh ilm hazaar kitaaba. / Yes, you may have read a thousand books. Kadi apne aap nu parhya nahin. / Yet not once have you read yourself. You may have read a thousand books but have you taken the time to read yourself -- to understand, to reflect, to recollect your thoughts on who you are and how you are. In a way, Bulleh Shahs words sting. They force a reconsideration of things deemed irrelevant. In essence, we find ourselves challenged to ask why we so willingly sacrifice all that is internal for nothing more than a small slice of the external. To traverse the lines between the internal and the external is a huge aspect of medicine and were provided with a simple tool. From very early on, were taught that the most important skill we have is history taking -- asking another human being whats wrong, what theyre worried about, whats been happening to them. Were told that 80-90% of what we can do for our patients will be based on what they tell us. And in doing so, were supposed to be objective, were supposed to explore any & all avenues, and were supposed to ask the difficult questions that are not easy to answer. But rarely, if ever, are we told to do the same of ourselves -- to ask the difficult questions, to explore the difficult avenues, and to be harsh, objective, & real in recognizing who we are and reading the book of our own lives. Without doing so, we willingly cede that 80-90% of opportunity that we have. We sacrifice both knowing ourselves and bettering ourselves. We give up on an us thats not yet even been given a chance to succeed. And to continue doing so seems foolish. Thats why Bullehs words seem to sting so much. Thats why they seem to hit home so strongly. Because they force you to define the most challenging word of all -- me.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 07:19:59 +0000