Tag: Light form many lamps

Robert Browning; Rabbi ben Ezra

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be”

What a motivational first line; a poet in the throes of bereavement making a renowned spiritual leader the voice of his poem! Not only that, the inspiration for this poem seems to be from Rabbi ben Ezra’s teaching “approach the twilight of light with joy and hope… approach the last of life with eagerness, not gloom”. (Ezra, as quoted in Watson, 1988, p.272)

In my work I see many a soul suffer from anxiety about the inevitable- death. Many fear the years to come. Not one day goes by when I don’t hear someone lament “i didn’t know growing old was going to be this hard”. I also see a lot of folks who consider it defeatist to admit that they are growing old, ” age is a state of mind’, “you are only as old as you think”. Though I personally dont agree with this line of though, I try not to be argumentative. My job as a doctor( Geriatrician, who sees older people) is to support people as they navigate old age and the associated infirmities. I understand that everybody must deal with the idea of growing old according to their personal beliefs, and come up with their own philosophy around it. At the same time, I think it is also my job to also make sure they are realistic about their years and not indulge in denial out of fear. This poem could be the guiding light for all who fear growing old. “Young, all lay in dispute; I shall know, being old”. The author interprets this as that when the struggles and mistakes of ones youth are over, one is wiser and has learned the true value of life.

I will close with a line from Sir William Mulock on the same theme “I am still at work, with my hand to the plow, and my face to the future”. (Mulock, as quoted in Watson, 1988, p. 268)

Watson, L. E. (1988). Light from many lamps. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Light from many lamps unit 8

Sir William Osler- A Way of Life

Sir William Osler was a Canadian physician, who is also known as the father of modern medicine. He was one of the four founding professors of Sir Johns Hopkins hospital (Wikipedia). He reminisces that as a young student he had yearned for a simple philosophy by which to live his life by. A sentence in a book by Thomas Carlyle gave him the answer “our main business is not too see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand”. He shared this philosophy with students at Yale in his speech titled “A Way of Life”. He attempted to make the message more profound by likening life to an ocean liner, which should be lived in “day-tight compartments”. By doing so, he preached, one can free themselves from the burden of the past and the future. Dr Osler’s desire to share his way of life is an example of transformational leadership.

I agree with this philosophy for the most part. As Dr Osler says “the load of tomorrow, added to that of yesterday, carried today makes the strongest falter”. Regret about what is past, and worry about what is to come can be very tiresome, and affect one’s quality of life. I am a new student of mindfulness, and this way of life has helped me keep my anxieties in check. I try to channelize my worries into practical problem solving activities. “Problem solving moves us closer to a resolution, whereas worry keeps us spinning in an endless cycle”. (Orsillo & Roemer, 2011, p.25). How does this apply in the work place or leadership? A very strict application of this philosophy is probably not ideal. Reflection is an important part of learning, as is planning for the future.

In my opinion one needs to find a balance between ‘day-tight’ living and constantly living in the past or the future. “To do the day’s work superbly well, planning for the future but not worrying about it, became the guiding principle of his life” (Watson, 1988, p.215). This is a leadership and life lesson I have taken from Dr Osler’s speech- “Get on the bridge, and see that at least the great bulkheads are in working order. Touch a button and hear, at every level of your life, the iron doors shutting out the Past- the dead yesterdays. Touch another and shut off, with a metal curtain, the Future- the unborn tomorrows. Then you are safe, safe for today.” This resonates with my personal philosophy that the mistakes of yesterday are learning experiences, and worries of the future if dealt with realistically help one plan for the future. But constant rumination about either is not an effective way to spend one’s time.

References

Orsillo, S.M., & Roemer, L. (2011). The mindful way through anxiety. New York: The Guildford Press.

Watson, L. E. (1988). Light from many lamps. New York: Simon & Schuster.

William Osler. Wikipedia, extracted o November 12, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Osler