The story of Sir William Osler and “A Way of Life” wrote by him is one of the most striking ones I found till now. Sir William Osler\u00a0(1849-1919), who is called Father of Modern Medicine, was a profound physician and professor of medical education (Tuteur, 2008). It was mentioned in the story that remembering the days with his students, perceiving the anxiety and fear of the students towards examinations and future, he wanted to find a simple philosophy to ease this kind of situation and guide everyone to be peaceful and practical. When he found the significantly meaningful words in the book by Thomas Carlyle “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand” (Watson, 1951, p. 214-215), the first thing he thought about was to share it with his students. In order to help the student better understand the genuine meaning implied in the philosophy, he dramatized it as day-tight compartments and “A Way of Life” came out. Countless people are influenced by “A Way of Life”, and it was “one of the most inspiring addresses ever heard at Yale”\u00a0(Watson, 1951, p. 216).<\/p>\n
I am impressed by his deep concern for his students. Sir William Osler definitely possessed the power of sympathy. He recalled the days of himself at the twenties and remembered he was once worried about the final exams and fearful of the future, and he connected his feelings to his students’ feelings. Truly feeling what his students felt and understanding their thoughts and feelings exactly proved his empathetic ability (Northouse, 2016). Furthermore, I was shocked the first when reading the words by him: “Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb all your interest, energy, and enthusiasm. The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work superbly well”\u00a0(Watson, 1951, p. 216). This advice is not only helpful for students during learning process but also is useful to be applied to the daily life. Actually, I think “The Way of Life” is exactly what Chinese people need right now. I used to think that the anxious feeling pervading in my life was due to my mother who is suffering from anxiety disorders all the time. After working for several years and communicating with other colleagues, I found that thinking or considering the future beforehand has become the living philosophy in China and is admired by generations. Especially, in terms of education, this philosophy is manifested the most by the unnecessary worries. It is common that the children around 6 to 7 years old are taking more than six kinds of classes per week. For example, my friend’s daughter, 6 years old, has GuZheng class on Monday night, Calculation class on Tuesday night, English class on Wednesday night, Swimming class on Thursday night, Drum class on Friday night, as for the weekend, she needs to take the class held by the primary school to learn Mathematics and Chinese. The parents in China prefer to put too much burden on the children for worrying that they might not be seen as not superior enough in the future. I was raised in this culture and have already found it annoying. The anxious parents could only raise up anxious children, and this vicious parenting circle never ends. I will unconsciously worry about what might happen tomorrow and the spinning wheels cannot be stopped. After knowing the “day-tight compartments” illustrated by Sir\u00a0William Osler, I practised several times and found it extremely useful to shut the useless worries out the door of my mind. I can focus more on what is on my hand right now and finish them effectively. The practice is still needed until it has become a habit. But the changes are happening, and I am trying to raise my son in a peaceful way and prevent him from suffering the anxious feelings in his life. When he reaches an older age, I will tell him this story of Sir William Osler to spread the philosophy to the next generations.<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Northouse, P. G. (2016).\u00a0Leadership: Theory and practice.<\/em>\u00a0Sage publications.<\/p>\n Tuteur, A. (2008, November 19).\u00a0Listen to your patient.\u00a0[web log comment].\u00a0Retrieved from\u00a0https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120319170242\/http:\/\/open.salon.com\/blog\/amytuteurmd\/2008\/11\/19\/listen_to_your_patient<\/p>\n Watson, L. E. (1951).\u00a0Light from Many Lamps<\/em>.\u00a0 New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The story of Sir William Osler and “A Way of Life” wrote by him is one of the most striking ones I found till now. Sir William Osler\u00a0(1849-1919), who is called Father of Modern Medicine, was a profound physician and professor of medical education (Tuteur, 2008). It was mentioned in the story that remembering the … <\/p>\n