EXCITING FIFA
12/15/2022
FIFA or the World Cup is usually held in the summer. But due to the location of the event - this year in Qatar - it was moved to December. Qatar is on the south side of the Persian Gulf and the northeast side of the Arabian Peninsula where it is known as ‘God’s Anvil,’ as was said in the movie: Lawrence of Arabia. The formidable winds from North Africa, further heat up as they cross this scorching barren land. Even though FIFA is being held in December, the games are played after sunset, to protect the players from heatstroke.
The games have been a good distraction from an otherwise very difficult year. Like millions of people around the world, I’ve been glued to the TV for the past weeks. Yesterday’s match between France and Morocco was a nail biter. Even though France won, Morocco sure gave them a run. The first African nation to make it to the semi-final and play so well. The final game between Argentina and France will be on Sunday (Dec. 18) 8 AM mountain time. It will be another exciting game.
How I wish we could get this excited about our healthcare. Even a little excitement would add to the well-being of us all, and with all the technology available to us, it would be at a fraction of the cost of establishing, providing and participating in these international pastimes. Of course, I realize that it is the teamwork and competitiveness of sports that make them so exciting and healthcare is not a competitive sport. But it does require and demand teamwork. That teamwork could be built upon. As healthcare providers, we can assure that the service we provide is to the best of our ability. And showing a little enthusiasm in providing it, well, could be contagious.
Let us hope and pray for a better year full of contagious enthusiasm ahead.
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IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD
12/8/2022
With the cold weather, we limit our exposure and shelter in, isolating ourselves from the elements. As we celebrate this holiday season of customs and beliefs, let’s not overlook the nature around us.
On an unusually warm day awhile back, my wife and I were hiking a mountain trail behind our house. Even the blue jays and chipmunks seemed dumbfounded by the heat. I was leaning on my walking staff, lost in the magic of the day. My wife, walking a few passes ahead, suddenly stopped, turned and whispered; "We are not alone!" pointing to the side of the trail.
I turned to see a rather large rattlesnake coiled up, soaking the sun on a massive bolder by the side of the trail. Seeing us, it slowly raised its head and darted its slit tongue in and out a few times in gesture of greeting. It raised its tail and lazily swung its rattler a couple of times before resting back on the warm rock. Not feeling a threat, it did not seem alarmed.
Just then, an unnatural sound silenced the nature around us. Disturbed, I reached into my pocket and retrieved my cell phone. It was our daughter, wanting to know of our whereabouts. I answered her, and shutting the confounded thing, placed it back into my pocket. Turning around, I noticed that the snake had slithered away and was gliding under the rock and out of sight. I cursed the annoying phone, and we continued on our hike.
Having lost my line of thought, I focused on the fantastic tools at our disposal. I grew up studying by a kerosene lamp. Out of town communication was by telegram and we took horse and buggy to school. Though we were bundled against the cold, we could still experience the world around us. The horse’s heavy and steamy breathing, the cracklings of its hooves on the icy earth, and the bite of the cold air in our face. Winter was present and experienced – even in the city.
In my lifetime, we invented jet aircraft, color television, went to the moon and back, computers, the internet and the blasted cell phone. So that we can be found and contacted miles away in the wilderness. This technology, I fear has severed our relationship with our nature, with dire consequences.
The world, however, is still a wonderful place. Let's slow down a bit, talk softly, listen more attentively. Hear the blue jays, coyotes, chipmunks, and the crows. Say hello to the sleepy snakes, lizards and the frogs. Let’s not forget that down below our buildings and vehicles, there is a planet that our very existence depends on.
While we are at it, let’s be more tolerant listening to our patients. The good Lord has given us two ears and one mouth. If we listen twice as much as we talk, we will understand them better and avoid mistreating each other. Let us wish everyone a wonderful and joyous season and thank mother nature for all the blessings bestowed on us.
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RECIDIVISM
12/1/2022
When I was appointed to the NM Medical Board, it was winter and my first attendance was the December meeting. A cold front and an associated early winter snow storm the previous night, caused havoc for my morning 65-mile drive to the state capital for the meeting. I ashamedly arrived an hour late for my first board meeting. To my relief, I learned that two other board members making the same trip had not arrived yet either. This is significant for this article, as the member’s tardiness allowed a lengthy discussion by the members present about a complaint received by the Board on a particular practitioner – apparently well known to them. The entire incident was memorable enough for me to still recall it today.
The particular practitioner – I will call him Dr. T. (for trouble) – became a regular at our Board meetings for the entire seven years, I served on the board. Dr. T. was an intelligent and good medical practitioner. The repeated complaints were not about his knowledge or practice of medicine. Mostly, they were not even from patients, rather, they were from his colleagues or co-workers on his abusive conduct. What made this case particularly difficult for us, was his level of intellect and astute arguments he presented. Of course, he was placed on probation multiple times, even referred for psychiatric evaluation. But even the psychiatrists seem to have trouble identifying his behavior. He was diagnosed with narcissistic vs bipolar vs anger management, etc. type of conduct. Our inability to deal with him adequately, compelled us to ask the governor to appoint a psychiatrist to the board when a vacancy became available.
At one point, we were pleased to hear that he left for a position with the federal government in a neighboring state. But since the federales did not require him to be licensed by that state, he practiced under his NM license. And it wasn’t long before we received a complaint on him, forwarded to us by the Medical Board of our neighboring state.
If there was one thing that I learned about such cases, was how such behaviors were common in highly intelligent, educated practitioners. I also came to appreciate that trying to change such behaviors, seldom works. Sometimes, I feel that a real jolt or as the old saying goes a kick in their attitude works best. There are, of course, other ways to deliver such a jar than an actual physical contact.
A young member of our family got involved with gangs in his school, and a close friend of his was killed in an altercation with the rival gang. The incident had a profound effect on him and as his mother said, “totally messed up his mind.” To a point that the family was worried that he might do something drastic, and asked if he could spend some time with us and away from his toxic environment. I agreed, but soon after his arrival realized that I had a real problem on my hands, as we were not even on the same level of communication. He looked at me as an older person and repeatedly said: oh, you just can’t understand what is going on these days. All my efforts failed, and I was feeling helpless. Then I noticed a pamphlet I had received in the mail about a medical conference (CME) happening soon, in a resort city of a developing country in Central America. An idea came to me and I told him that I was going to the conference and would like him to come with me, and that it would be a good break from it all. He agreed eagerly.
We flew to the capital city. From there I opted to take the train to the Resort City. I purchased a couple of coach tickets on the overnight train. On the ride, the average citizenry got on and off throughout the night. Often carrying their children, belongings and goods of all kind. Even occasionally their livestock like chickens, goats, sheep, etc. my young relative’s eyes widened and he was totally fascinated by all he witnessed.
At the resort, I checked in at the conference which was held at a 4-star hotel on the beach, but then checked in at a hotel in town, close to the marketplace – making cost, an excuse. The vendors, arrived at five in the morning, carrying their goods for the day. The commotion woke us and despite his objection, I made him get up and go to the market. Again, the seemingly primitive layout of the market engrossed him. Of particular interest was the meat market. We watched with fascination as butchers, expertly cut the meat from the hanging carcasses for the customers, as they swatted the flies (no refrigeration here.) To catch a ride to the conference, we had to walk through the meat market, which added to the effect. When we returned at the end of the day, the marketplace was dark and empty. Even the flies seemed to have gone home.
I can’t believe these people live like this; he commented once. To which I pointed out that I was glad he noticed, as 90% of the world population live thus. As a matter of fact, I said, many places would consider this a luxury.
I was especially pleased when, on the last day of the conference, he decided to remain behind at the hotel and do some souvenir shopping. Later, he couldn’t stop talking about other fascinating discoveries of his. We flew home the next day. His mother could not believe the changes she saw in him.
Now just think of the possibility of our Boards requiring our unruly practitioners to spend a couple of months practicing at a rural clinic or hospital in a Third World country. I am willing to bet that much of such recidivism would resolve.
Reza Ghadimi
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A THANKSGIVING PRAYER
11/23/2022
Oh Great Creator
Whose voice I hear in the wind and running waters
Whose beauty I see in flowers and the setting sun
Whose breath I feel in all living creatures
Whose warmth I sense in the heart of my children
Myself, my parents and their parents before them.
Hear my thankful prayers
Thankful for the nature that keeps me alive
Thankful for the teachings of all your prophets
Thankful for the order of your universe
Thankful for the knowledge of all your creation
That allows me to see beyond what can't be seen.
Oh Great Creator
Give me the wisdom to see my insignificant
Give me the wisdom to realize the fragility of existence
Give me the wisdom to comprehend the balance of nature
Give me the wisdom to discern right from wrong
So that I can add to your blessings and not take away from them.
Oh Great Creator
Guide me toward that which is the right path
Guide me to know my limits
Guide me to not harm all things that I can see and not see
Guide me to rise above my ignorance
And see that all mankind are my kin
That without them I am nothing
My very existence meaningless.
I pray so when I come before you
My hands and heart will be clean
And I can stand tall and without shame.
Amen.
Reza Ghadimi
From the book: Practicing from the Heart in the Age of Technology
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IMMIGRANTS AND ELECTIONS
11/17/2022
Elections are over, some have won
Others, lost
All the changes and nots
Affect many, but none more than us.
In times like these, when uncertainties abound
The nights are long, doubts and fear cry loud
Lying in bed with questions and doubt
Will we ever be homebound?
Sometimes under a crescent moon
The memories of youth and childhood
Nag at our soul, and ask
Whatever was our task?
But here, in this new land of ours
Ideas are paramount
Everyone's voice counts
No matter the reason or cost.
And in this world lies our faith
As it's home now, and we wait
For the call of the day that'll shout
That our votes, too, will now count!
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Veterans Day
11/10/2022
It's Veterans Day. So, we salute all veterans.
As a veteran myself, I truly appreciate their service to our country and people. But it is saddening how some of our veterans are treated. In the last twenty years, more than 30,000 active-duty personnel and veterans have died by suicide - compared to the 7,057 killed in combat in the same 20-year period. The US is number 22 in the veteran suicide rate in the world - this is appalling and unforgivable.
Throughout history, many nations treated their veterans better than we do today. Persians, Chinese and Romans, for example, had high respect for them. Julius Caesar, for instance, gave land to about 15,000 of his veterans. And it is well known that Emperor Augustus settled more than 300,000 veterans in colonies across the empire. The honorably discharged veterans also received about 3000 to 5000 denarii's depending on their rank. Furthermore, they had certain rights and immunities. They could be a city councilor or serve in their local or regional governments. It seems that our leaders could learn a lesson from the ancients when it comes to caring for our veterans.
Today, many of our veterans are homeless or live below the poverty level. We have the rich spending billions frivolously, like buying a social platform for 44 billion. Just one billion of that could help thousands of veterans out of poverty. There are VA benefits, of course, and I was one of the recipients, but it is hardly enough, these days. Here is an idea; how about interest free mortgages for every veteran who wants to buy his/her first house? How about rent-free dwellings equal to the number of years served, to help them get on their feet in civilian life. Or a guaranteed state or federal government job, or free (really free) education.
There are many ways, our government, organizations, and wealthy citizens can help our veterans further. Let's try!
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OF SEABISCUIT AND OTHER UNLIKELY WINNERS
11/2/2022
It was on November 1st 1938, that the racing horse Seabiscuit, made history winning against War Admiral.
Seabiscuit was small and ugly, his legs were crooked, and he injured often. He was named "sea biscuit" a hard bread eaten by sailors, because of his undesirability. It was during the Great Depression, and people needed their spirit lifted by a winner, and Seabiscuit did not seem the one to do it. His trainer had given up on him and he was all but forgotten. Then someone saw potential in him and bought him. A new trainer and jockey also saw prospects and started training him anew. They discovered that if they let him study his opponent, he would feel superior, stare them down and win. So it was that he started winning and on November 1st 1938, a race was set just between him and a younger, attractive horse named War Admiral at Pimlico Race Tracks in Maryland to a sold-out crowd. Millions more listened on the radio. For the first half of the race, they were running evenly, then his jockey eased up on him and let him get a good look at War Admiral, and that did it. As though saying "Oh no, you don't!" he sped off and won the race by four lengths. At one-to-four odds, against him, he not only had a great win, he gave a much-needed boost to a dispirited America during those trying times.
If history has taught us anything, it is that - like Seabiscuit - winners do better if allowed to proceed on their own terms. They cannot be forced to win. Healthcare providers, too, do better without the unnecessary demands of managed care organizations, legislatures, and legal system. Not a single doctor working for an organization has ever won the Nobel Prize. The most unlikely winners in our profession have been solo practitioners serving humanity, often in most dire condition. We salute them all.
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Night of the witches
10/30/2022
This Halloween article has been a favorite of our readers, as many who work the ER, relate to the chaotic nature of such an evening, and so we decided to run it one more year. ENJOY!
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Awhile back, I had the fortune or the misfortune of working the ER on Halloween night, which happened to fall on Friday. At the time, I was living in a small but very multicultural town in Northern New Mexico. The night turned to be wackier than any of us expected. Of-course the usual, Friday night crowd kept us busy with drunkenness, bar brawls, car accidents, sniffling noses, and the standard medical incidents. But the unusual was what made it, well, rather memorable.
It started with the usual minor accidents due to drivers watching the trick and treaters rather than the road and running into each other. Kids falling in the dark streets and bruising themselves, and so on. Then closer to midnight, two very striking young ladies showed up in the ER in witch attire. Well, the outfits were more risqué than witchy and that attracted some unwanted attention. The ladies were from out of town - California to be exact - visiting friends for Halloween. They were sisters with a long history of asthma - yes, both of them. At the friend’s party, the guests got to drinking and smoking and more smoking and different kinds of smoking, and before long the indoor atmosphere got too polluted and our young ladies found themselves in severe distress. Their inhalers just weren’t doing the job, and they were rushed to the ER by the police - ambulances were busy chasing fender benders. In their haste, they didn’t grab their coats and showed up in revealing witch costumes.
It was particularly cold that evening in the high country of Northern New Mexico. As it was usual for our town, several locals and their homeless friends used to sneak in the waiting area of the hospital to get warm. They were regulars and generally subdued and quiet, if they got rowdy, we would ask them to leave, and they usually quieted down. But that night being Halloween, they had a bit too much to drink and the arrival of two very attractive blond witches - well, just got them too excited. The policeman who brought the witches was known to be a bit rough and, as he too was interested in the ladies, got into an argument with the others in the waiting room. In his roughness, he turned one of the unwelcome visitors to the wall and grabbed his Mace Spray and proceeded to use it on his subject. A scuffle ensued and as the officer pressed the Mace Spray, the man ducked and the officer sprayed himself in the eyes. Well, you can guess the chaos that followed.
In the confusion, the uninvited visitors dashed out into the dark night. We covered our ladies with patient gowns and rushed them to the P.T. Department across the hall and locked the door. As it was the standard treatment of the day, we gave them each a shot of epinephrine and started them on a nebulizer. Much to our dismay, they told us that they had been dealing with asthma much of their lives. They were started on a new treatment by their pulmonologist back in California but didn’t know the medication they were given. Fortunately for us, it all turned out well. Our intoxicated friends made it back to the sanctuary of another warm place, we flushed the officer’s eyes and sent him home, dressed, bandaged, and splinted other injured patients, treated the sniffling children and cared for other medical problems. It was a full and eventful night. Our out-of-towners responded well to our treatment and left the next day for California.
We were lucky that night, for our patients were young and did respond to the management of their acute asthmatic attack. Today, of course, better treatments are available and with the help of telecommunication we can access patients’ medical charts from out of town and consult their providers back home - even on Halloween evening. New tools allow us to care for this mobile generation. Still, it helps to remind ourselves of how we dealt with medical urgencies back in the not-so-distant past.
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Autumn's Lullaby
10/19/2022
Come o nature of autumn cool
Rest your head upon the golden leaves
Your fruitful toll of summer, fulfilled
With the sun, soil, and
Water, to the life giving seeds
Grown to nurture man and beast.
Now it's time, rest your weary days
Set for the long nights ahead
Pull the darkness over the naked limbs
Seek a warm abode to hibernate
Blissfully dream among the stars beyond
Of green pastures and berries abound.
Now the cold wind of autumn brings
Nudge of the season to rest and sleep
Nature's promise to revive
And the joy of being alive
Soon to rouse you to the hope
Of all that is so revered.
Reza Ghadimi - Autumn 2022
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HEY DOC
10/12/2022
On a cold and dreary night, long ago in New York, after a long and arduous day of working in the South Bronx, I was going home on the subway. I was surprised, when for the third time, I heard someone say; Hey doc, how is it going?
I was so tired that I had not noticed the pertinence of the question, till the third time. Amazed, I asked the man sitting next to me: How do you know I am a doctor?
"Your stethoscope." He said, pointing to my neck.
I laughed, after touching my neck and noticing that the head of my scope was sticking out of the back of my collar. In my haste and fatigue, I had forgotten to take it off, when I put on my parka, and the head of it was hanging over the hood.
Sheepishly, I removed it and placed it in my pocket. "I am just a PA student." I informed him. Which ended the uncomfortable conversation.
I find it interesting that a simple tool, such as that, clearly identifies one's occupation. Furthermore, I find it amusing that I still remember the incident after fifty years, and often wonder if I would still be greeted, had the tool identified my occupation as something else.
It shows the respect and value, our profession awakens in people. Not many can make such a claim. It also reminds me of the many times we hear on the news of how, some of our colleagues violate this sacred title. I suppose that we are all guilty of taking advantage of our position at some point or another. But when it rises to a criminal level, it tarnishes us all. So who is to blame, is it our responsibility to police each other, are we our brother's keepers, or should we fault the system that, in many cases, has unrealistic demands of us. Maybe it is all of the above. Still, I feel proud to also note that looking comparatively, our group's offenses are relatively small. But they are there and when they come out, it makes us all wither. Our profession deserves better than that.
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HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIAN ASSOCIATES WEEK!
10/9/2022
October 6 to 12 is International Physician Associates Week. We salute all our brother and sister PAs. Especially all the old timers. Those of us who truly madethis profession. Our profession started in the 1960s, so we are celebrating fifty-five years, and we are worldwide, so this is International Physician Associates Week. We have come a long way, still much has to be done.
I was one of the first PAs in the country and am a living history of the many fights we had. Along the way, we gained much and lost a few too. Though AAPA likes to take credit for all the achievements, the practitioners in the field are the ones who deserve credit. For state by state, and country by country, we fought the prejudices of our fellow practitioners, government regulators, legislators, media and the public.
When I first came to New Mexico in 1973, no one knew what a PA was. The secretary of the NM Board of Medical Examiners, told me to my face: "PAs will practice here over my dead body." I am proud to say that not only are we still practicing here, I actually served as the first PA on the NM Medical Board forty years later, and held his job as secretary of NM Medical Board in 2008.
My book Practicing from the Heart in the Age of Technology is all about our experiences and struggles, as a PA, in this country and around the world. Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MACP, FRCP, President and CEO of Federation of State Medical Boards wrote the foreword to this book.
Paul B. Roth, MD, MS, F ACEP - Dean of the UNM College of Medicine, Chancellor, UNM Health Sciences Center, CEO, UNM Health System, said: In Practicing from the Heart, Reza Ghadimi has captured the true heart of our healing profession… Every student thinking of entering the health professions should read this book.
Go to the home page of this site and read their endorsements and on the Blog page, the many stories that truly make our history.
Keep up the good work and do not give up the fight.
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OF NEANDERTHAL DNA & ENTANGLEMENT THEORY
10/5/2022
The UN General Assembly brought hundreds of leaders and policymakers from around the world to New York for a couple of weeks. I found this year's session very disappointing. Many talked, yet little of substance was discussed, as it seemed that blame-placing and finger-pointing was the only thing on the agenda. Although climate change, hunger & famine, and overall health of the world is in dire need of attention, political issues trumped them all. Leaving everyone flabbergasted and at the mercy of uncontrollable circumstances. Interestingly and on cue, several hurricanes have developed and are causing havoc everywhere.
On a positive note, the Nobel Prize Committee is meeting right now and some interesting people are awarded this year's prizes:
For medicine:
Svante Paabo, a Swedish scientist, won the Nobel Prize in medicine for pioneering the use of ancient DNA to unlock secrets about human evolution that provided insights into our immune system.
For physics:
Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger are awarded for their achievements in quantum mechanics. As the Committee announced: The trio won for their experiments with what’s known as entanglement – an unimaginable phenomenon of two particles behaving as one and affecting each other, even when they are at vast distances to each other, on opposite sides of the planet or even the solar system. (What?)
For Chemistry:
Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.”
For Peace:
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski and two groups, Memorial, a human rights organization from Russia and the Center for Civil Liberties, which is based in Ukraine.
For Economics:
The Nobel Prize in economics was awarded Monday to Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig for their research on banks and financial crises.
When I consider these mind-boggling scientific facts, I am reminded of an astronomer who said: "When you have all the cosmos to think about, who cares about the kind of soup you are served in a restaurant." The total disregard and ignorance of many political leaders, however, reminds me of a cartoon, I once saw, showing: A man standing in front of an observatory, shaking his fist at the cosmos, yelling: "You don't make mefeel insignificant."
As these mayhem developing conundrums, sicken the population in many ways, the job of healthcare providers become ever more challenging. If they ever award a prize for patience, I am sure that healthcare providers will be the top recipients of it.
Reza Ghadimi
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Memory of a Fall day
9/15/2022
Fading or faded, the memory of a fall day, no matter how great
Slips away slowly, yet leaves an impression of the unforgettable
Much like a one-night affair of long ago, with that special stranger
Though love has since, followed with all kinds of specials
That one memory, lingers on and shows her head
At all the right and wrong places.
Sandwich between warm days of summer
And wonderlands of winter, she sits
Not particularly comparable, unforgettable nevertheless
How the golden leaves of Aspen, shimmer just so
The morning sting of the autumn air
A jab to the notion of what's to come
The heat of the afternoon sun,
A reminder of what just passed.
The cumulus clouds of the day's late hour
Majestically, crowning the darkening hills
Into the atmosphere to meet the rising strawberry moon
While the cactus and sunflowers shine still
To the autumn's dancing winds of change.
The harvesting crowd, rush to beat the shortening days
To pick the last of the apple, grape, chili, and maize
Before the frost freezes their goodness, within.
Indeed, it was a special day that is unique to all senses
As memory awakens the un-special, yet unforgettable
The heart recalls the unusual beat of that day
Much as it does, to the fading memory of the nameless one
And who was the one on that foggy night in London Town?
Reza Ghadimi
September 2022
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THOTH'S CALENDAR
8/31/2022
Interesting thing, calendars. It is one of the ingenious inventions of mankind, that we use without regard to its origin or makeup. The hieroglyphics discovered in caves, tombs, pyramids, and stone monuments around the world, reveals its origin to be tens of thousands of years old.
One such calendar of interest is the Ancient Egyptian Thoth Calendar, established in the reign of Pharaoh Shepseskaf (2494–2345 BC.) It was Thoth who created the 365-day calendar. Twelve months of 30 days each, 360 regular days with five extra days added on to the end of the year, and a single day added every fourth year as a leap year, making the calendar reliable to this day. The New Year's Day fell on the first day of the month of Thoth, around August 29 in our calendar.
It is believed that Thoth was the author of the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Book of Breathing. Thoth loved sharing his knowledge with others. Today, Internet makes it possible for us to listen and share our knowledge with people around the world. Let's think of Thoth and share our stories. I think that would make Thoth sit up in his tomb and smile. The Feast of Thoth is celebrated as a day of writing and sharing stories in Egypt today.
So it is that calendars represent man's unique way of registering his accounts, and immortalizing people important to history. Like Mother Teresa, born August 26, 1910, who gave a new meaning to serving selflessly. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who died last Tuesday, August 30, proved that differences can be resolved peacefully and amicably between big rivals, even ones like the United States and USSR.
And the philosopher Georg Hegel, born on August 27, 1770. He devised the concept of Dialectic, the idea that all human progress is driven by the conflict between opposites, that each political movement is imperfect and so gives rise to a counter movement which takes control - and is also imperfect - and thus gives rise to yet another counter movement, and so on to infinity.
Hegel wrote, "Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights."
Just think how many of today's world conflicts we can resolve by just following some of the teachings of these three people mentioned in our calendars.
Reza Ghadimi
September 1, 2022
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UNMINDFUL OF TIME
8/25/2022
Out of the nature that surrounds
And the world that turns around
Day and night set the mode
To work or rest when it's sound.
Time works to nature's need
Evolving life takes time indeed.
Those who live urban ways
Want speedy lives, and ready meals.
Forget the required time for
Life to develop, plants to grow
Cattle and sheep to graze.
Time for children and maize to grow
Jungles breath and oceans breed.
For seasons to arrive and produce
Grow the seeds to edible feed.
It matters not where it was sowed
Only time for it to grow.
Time is integral to life.
Mindful we must be of time
Less it will leave us behind.
Reza Ghadimi
August 2022
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LONGING
8/10/2022
Reminiscence of bygone days, memories of what (once) was. Nostalgia need not be for long ago or far away, sometimes one can feel longing for something quite recent. Though my fishing trip just happened, I desire for its peace still. There is something soothing and calming to the soul, watching a river gently flow past. Perhaps its resemblance to our body's circulatory structure, reveals how much a part of nature we are. Or that its motion reassures us of our existence, a testament to our being.
The tranquility of the deep gorge I was in was comforting and peaceful. The crows, magpies, and occasional jump of a fish, did keep my attention immersed in its beauty. But the modern world still found ways to disrupt it with over flying aircraft and the occasional whistle of a distant train.
Such places are everywhere, as are peaceful people who live there and are oblivious to the intrusion of what lays beyond (see old & new, below). I recall another such place on a mountaintop in Central America. A couple of caring RN nuns, ran a semblance of a clinic there and occasionally, health practitioners from the outside world came and helped out, for a few days or weeks. I talk about it in my book, Practicing from the Heart in the Age of Technology - (A SALUTE TO OUR NURSES). The gentle folk, living in those remote places, had only a day-to-day task of keeping themselves and their animals, safe and cared for. What help, occasionally came to them was a blessing. A gift from another world, beyond their perception, perhaps, even from gods. It was not to be taken for granted, only appreciated. I felt ashamed that my intrusive world was encroaching violently upon theirs.
But of course the other side of this reality is the fact that modern technology - like the augmented reality in training medical students and healthcare professionals - will ultimately lead to better providers as well as discovery of better ways to research, develop, manufacture pharmaceuticals as well medical and other devices that will help everyone, including people in isolated areas. The trick is not destroying one way of life, while improving the other. Then we can all enjoy the peace of nature, no matter our lifestyle.
Reza Ghadimi
August 2022
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THE OLD AND THE NEW
7/21/2022
A documentary starts by showing a small caravan of six camels and four men walking across the hot sands of Mauritania in West Africa. The hooves of the camels and sandals of men displace the dry sand with every step, leaving a long trail stretched to the horizon, dramatically revealed by the slow rise of the camera for an aerial view. Suddenly the camels are alarmed, as a faint rumbling sound is heard far away. The men stop and watch amazed as the whistle of a train is heard in the distance. Soon several locomotives come into view pulling a long train of hoppers carrying iron ore. Men and beast watch as twenty first century interrupts their ancient way of life.
The film reminded me of another documentary across equally desolate and isolated yet incredibly cold Siberia. Where temperatures dip below -70C. There too, people have their primitive lives disrupted by modern transportation systems. New man comes with trains, trucks, machinery and remove the iron, copper, lumber, etc. from their backyard and leave destruction and waste to their land and often sicken them in the process. As the journalist traveling the cold of the arctic said "a country is not a place on a map at all, but a story full of people you meet and places you visit." Interestingly, while these places and thousands of others like them are exposed to fresh realities, the healthcare system is not one of them.
There are thousands of nationalities worldwide. It might be difficult to understand other lifestyles and traditions, but they do exist and have needs that are disrupted by modern life. The information technology/internet is reaching them faster than the amenities it portrays, adding to the disparities they see and feel. Among them and perhaps the most needed is healthcare. These people see this as a new way of slavery. It is time this is changed and they receive their share of prosperity. The absurdity of it is that it cost so relatively little to provide healthcare to every corner of the world. Programs such as Project Echo can educate and supervise people in these areas to care for themselves. We have the means, even the money, it just takes a little caring.
Reza Ghadimi
July 2022
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SUMMER HOPE
7/13/2022
Expectations of summer
Hot days, green pastures
Lazy afternoons
Firefly evenings
Dreams of cold winter nights.
Now the blue skies and
Gathering clouds
Awaken a primal sense of
All that is sacred to the cycle of life
The ripened fruits by the murmuring brook.
Overhead, the call of a hawk
To its mate, tells of families
Old and waiting anew to grow.
The young meeting in the brush, tree or hilltop
With promises for a future, as the old snooze.
Deep in the abyss, mother nature
Stews nature's goodness in ocean's cauldron
Healing plants and living fish
Enough to feed man and beast
For this blessing, thanks are given.
Thanks to the winds of the north
Thanks to the rising sun of the east
Thanks to the rains of the south
Thanks to the night of the west. Oh great creator,
Give us wisdom to live on this earth in peace.
Reza Ghadimi
July 2022
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A QUESTION OF QUESTIONS
7/7/2022
There is a question
Unanswered for centuries and millennia
That has left us bewildered.
Scholars and prophets have asked
All for naught
And left it to be taken as faith
A divine cause.
Gypsies and dervishes dance to it, puzzled
Some look to the cosmos for clues
Others into a drop of water.
There are those, silently sitting
By the shore or mountain top
Pondering a metaphysical sign.
As to who are we?
Why are we here?
Why is here, here?
We answer as we grapple
With the end result
Not the root cause!
And that may be the reason for
The emergence of iniquities everywhere.
Reza Ghadimi
July 7, 2022
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The Declaration of our independence
6/30/2022
Monday is America's Independence Day, our birthday and anniversary as a nation. We should be celebrating it joyously. Yet in the face of all that is happening around us, it may be difficult to celebrate anything, while we are under attack from within as well as without.
Perhaps it is time to revisit the declaration of our independence. What exactly was it that we declared independence from? Is our world free today? For what it declares, is for everyone, not just the USA.
If you have never fully read this document, or even if you have, please read it here and now. It only takes five to ten minutes, and you may come away with a totally new perspective of it.
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
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PRACTICING MEDICINE ABOVE THE CLOUDS
6/22/2022
A colleague, returning from three years of work in Chile, talks of the magic of practicing medicine in the villages of the Andes. "My clinic", says he, "could not be reached by any means but foot, burros or llamas."
The morning always starts with a chill, no matter the time of the year. The thin air seems to suck the breath from the deepest crevasses of the lung, leaving not a void, but a euphoria of a kind, felt by the pounding of the heart. The rays of the morning sun, too, seem breathless as they climb over the snow-covered peaks. On most days, mist, fog or clouds fill the valley below in a surrealistic panorama, while eagles and condors soar through the waves of air.
Elated, we start the day as a fountain of emotion overwhelms our senses. As beautiful people of mountain villages arrive, bearing gifts of bread, maize, and poultry. Though, they may be sick, or injured, their gratitude of having us there is so contagious that compels one to want to care for them as one would a loved one. Such is the nature of the practice, day after day, month after month. Though at times we were exhausted, we were never tired.
Today in our country, social issues, economy, and the war in Europe occupy the media, the Supreme Court, legislators and our thoughts. While healthcare and providing for people is pushed to the back. An irrational thing to do as pandemics of new and old pathogens are ravaging the world. Society is fighting to free itself from many handicapping regulations. Perhaps it is also time to free our healthcare providers from being a cashier for corporations and let them care for the sick and injured. The euphoria of such freedom would make us all feel that we are practicing above the clouds.
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Of Flag, Father, and Nobel
6/16/2022
The following article is adopted from a page by the same name in the book: Practicing from the Heart in the Age of Technology.
Tuesday was Flag Day. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress of the United States adopted the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States.
And next Sunday is Father's Day, to celebrate and honor our fathers. Just as a flag raises the sense of patriotism in people, Father's Day raises the sense of responsibility, affection and devotion in all of us. These two days help us celebrate our civility and sense of belonging, to our families, country, beliefs, and our fellow man.
Unfortunately, many believe that to be patriotic is to harm those who do not agree with us. But as Mahatma Gandhi said: "An eye for an eye will soon leave the whole world blind."
Sometimes, one has to go out of their way to execute the needed task. A good example of this can be seen in the work of peace activist and novelist Baroness Bertha von Suttner. Born on June 9th, 1843, in Prague. As a popular peace activist, her work was widely read. Her book "Lay Down Your Arms (1889)" was well received. In her mid 30s, she became the secretary to the industrialist Alfred Nobel.
Nobel had made a fortune as the inventor of dynamite and later through the development of weapons. Bertha became an influencing factor on Nobel and convinced him to create what is now known as "The Nobel Peace Prize." In 1905, Bertha von Suttner became the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize that she had helped create.
Today, the need for peace and harmony in our turbulent world is clear. We as healthcare providers can be a catalyst in starting a spark to light the torch of hope, and we have the tools to make our torch be seen far away. Telehealth, Telemedicine, and Tele-education can carry the light of our torch around the world. Let's make our flag be one of hope and peace!
Copyright © 2021. Used with permission of TH PULSE, LLC.
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SILENCE OF THE ASS
6/8/2022
The total disconnect between many politicians and leaders of the world and their constituents leave many of us bewildered. So much so that the disconnect itself has become news and limitless stock for comedians.
It brings to mind an old proverb:
A man was training his donkey by lecturing it.
A passing sage admonished him: your ass is deaf to your sermon.
As it cannot learn from your speech
Perhaps you should learn from its silence.
Two kinds add to the world tribulations, a conceited leader and an ignorant teacher! Sadly, our world is full of both.
This however is election year in many parts of the world, and there is desperation to replace many of the leaders. Unfortunately, in this fervor, we may be electing inexperienced people. Though this may seem to be the right thing to do, their lack of experience will most definitely put the world in more of a chaos. Let's be mindful of whom we elect.
RG
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LOST HUMANITY?
6/2/2022
Like thousands of others, I watched the movie 2001 - a space odyssey, in 1968. And was awe struck, spellbound, and hopeful for a promising tomorrow. We were fighting the Vietnam War, and the news of casualties on both sides, sickened me. Especially since, as an Air Force Medic, I was taking care of many of our boys and girls - at Wilford Hall Hospital, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas - who were seriously injured in the war.
The movie portrayed the hope for a better world just forty years ahead. I prayed and looked forward to seeing that future.
Now twenty years past that promising future, I find myself writing this article about a chaotic world of confusion and disarray, controlled by illogical and irrational politicians, religious and business leaders everywhere. Rather than reaping the beauty and bounty of the world and universe around us, we are raping and destroying the very foundation of that which our lives depend on. Once again, we are fighting wars in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Americas, while our people are senselessly killing each other in schools, malls, subways, and streets. It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity - Albert Einstein.
No place is this irrationality more evident than (to those of us) in healthcare, which have to deal with the casualties of this insanity. The picture of a nurse in a Texas Hospital, last week, said it all. She was crying while rushing an injured child to the OR, after the Uvalde massacre.
Yesterday, June 1st was the birthday of Marilyn Monroe (1926), the Hollywood actress of the forties and fifties. Who died of an overdose in 1962. She was an orphaned and abused child who had witnessed the inhumanity of man first hand. Still, she tried to add some humility and happiness to this world by her acting. Just before her death, she made this appeal: "What I really want to say: That what the world really needs is a real feeling of kinship. Everybody: stars, laborers, Negroes, Jews, Arabs. We are all brothers. Please don't make me a joke. End the interview with what I believe." The published article did not make known her plea.
Many of us have since, and are now making the same plea. Pray that it will not fall on deaf ears!
Reza Ghadimi
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MEMORIAL DAY
5/25/2022
In the face of recent calamitous events, my heart and mind are numb to the violence and brutality of all that is occurring in our country and the world. The fact that the politicians, religious, and business leaders continue to send their condolences to families of the victims, while doing absolutely nothing to remedy the problem, is a testament to how indifferent they really are.
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The following is an excerpt of the page on Memorial Day, from my book: Practicing From the Heart in the Age of Technology. Perhaps we should make this, a day to remember the victims of broken societies as well.
Memorial Day is when we remember those who gave their lives to defend our country. It is noteworthy that a year after the end of the Civil War, in April 1866, four women of Columbus, Mississippi gathered together to decorate the graves of the Confederate soldiers buried in their town. They also felt moved to honor the Union soldiers buried there and to note the grief of their families by decorating their graves as well. The story of their gesture of humanity and reconciliation is now told and retold in Mississippi as being the occasion of the original Memorial Day.
Another heart-warming Memorial Day story is that of the Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel in the mountains north of Angel Fire, New Mexico.
Following the death of their son, U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Victor David Westphall III, Jeanne and Dr. Victor Westphall decided to build a memorial in his honor and the fifteen men that died with him near Con Thien, South Vietnam on May 22, 1968, and the Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel in Angel Fire, New Mexico was erected. The Chapel was dedicated on May 22, 1971, the 3rd anniversary of the death of their son. It was the first major memorial created to honor the veterans of the Vietnam War and inspired the establishment of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., which was completed ten years later in 1982.
In circa 1982, a group of veterans and motorcycle enthusiasts made a pilgrimage to the site to honor their fallen comrades and to visit the one of a kind memorial. Somehow the word got out in that era of no internet and many more made the trip the next year and every year since, so that the 2018’s Memorial Day event (the last big event before the Covid pandemic) attracted some 20,000 to Angel Fire, New Mexico.
Copyright © 2021. Used with permission of TH PULSE, LLC.
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COMMENCEMENT
5/18/2022
Dressed in your best, you wait. Pressed gowns adorn anxious bodies, caps on, tassels hanging.
It's graduation and expectation day.
Happy that school is over, anxious for what now?
It seems that you have spent your entire life working toward this day, this place, this time.
To get this permission, this license, this authorization to claim your place in this world.
And the world is waiting for you, with its hand out.
To take that which you have worked so hard to achieve.
Do you really owe anyone anything?
After all, you did all the work. All the learning, the proving of your worth.
Isn't that what this day is all about?
The world awaits you, try all of it for size!
It is said that a person is born twice,
Once to the parents who bore him/her
And once to the community, he/she chooses to live in.
Find the part of the world that fits you best
For today is truly the first day of the rest of your life!
Chose wisely!
Accept your diploma, turn the tassel on your cap
Toss it up in the air with a shout.
Go forth and make your mark!
Make it a good mark, a mark,
Worth remembering!
Congratulations! As a healthcare provider, you are needed all around the world. Consider volunteering for a short time with many International Organizations such, as Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, Peace Corps, The Addis Clinic, and many others. You can find a link to many of them on our website.
You will find the experience life changing beyond anything you can imagine and lessons that will help you for the rest of your professional life - I promise!
Reza Ghadimi
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SPRING TEASE
5/4/2022
Spring,
she is a teaser!
With her tormenting winds, she plays with man and nature alike.
Showing a cleavage of summer and uplifted wind blown skirt, she
excites and arouses the world with fantasies of pleasure of the months
yet to come.
Winter hangs on to her flowing skirt as she flirts with the sun and sky.
Every peek of the sun brings a warmth to the coldness of plant and animal alike.
And with every rise in temperature, blades of grass peek through the
snow and buds open on the trees as they dance back and forth
to the tempo of the wind.
After every use, I clean the fire stove in anticipation of the coming
warm days only having to run back into the forest in search of scraps
of wood to make one more fire, and watch her giggle and tease by
blowing snowflakes into my face.
It is May and there is ice on the pond. The lilacs spread their aroma through
the snow, and apple blossoms shiver and smile with every blow of the wind.
I too, play hide and seek with my winter and summer clothes as I wait
for her to stop her teasing games, and in anticipation of the coming
summer, I open the windows a tad more.
Reza Ghadimi
Spring 2022
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POWWOW
4/27/2022
The Gathering of Nations Powwow, an annual festivity of the Native Americans and indigenous from around the world, is held in April, in New Mexico. A celebration of cultures to honor the traditions of ancestors by reflecting, praying, dancing, and singing.
It is a time of unity of customs, minds, and spirits. The Powwow dance is an integral part of this festivity. An ongoing ballet of bodies to a hypnotic drum beat. The rhythmic rise and descent of bodies in unison creates an atmosphere of commonality and harmony. It binds all thoughts, beliefs and desires in a euphoric, vitalizing, and exhilarating environment. The young and the old feel it in their hearts and souls. Circle of life, expressed in the motion of the moment. Leaping, singing, and playing, a mystical communion of rituals, traditions, and conventions.
The principle is universal, spiritual and familiar, as I have witnessed it on the other side of our world in the twirling rhythm of the Sufi and dervishes' dance.
It is also a connecting with all that is natural. The leap, mankind's declaration of independence from the hold of the earth. A moment of freedom and then the solid ground, a reminder of where we belong. Hearts pumping, muscles bouncing, spirits soaring into a trance of unifying individual beings into a harmonious commonality.
Such cultures are common around the world. Much however is being lost to the greed, self-indulgence, and decadence of modern society and the social order of our times. Perhaps it is time to share an old dance with that new anyone with whom we have differences.
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CHOLLA'S ADVISE
4/20/2022
As I was walking down the hill,
A Cholla* spine stabbed my heel.
In protest, I screamed and in response, it said to me;
You are mobile, I am not. Go around for I am still.
Reza Ghadimi - November 1996
Rising seas, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, floods and fires. Epidemics, wars, refugees, homelessness and famine.
Nature and history are screaming alarms, is anyone listening?
* Cholla (or Choya) A type of cactus with needle sharp spines.
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THE HOMELESS GYPSY
4/13/2022
April 8th was the "International Day of Gypsies (Roma)"
I met a man in Marrakesh, the story goes, who claimed to be a homeless gypsy.
His family and in fact entire clan had been wiped out by the war.
And he, the only survivor of his kin.
But then it came to him that some had escaped to North Africa.
Hence, the reason for him looking there.
I remembered, that tale told to me by a fellow traveler on a train to Madrid, some time ago.
The gypsy did not find any of his kin, but in searching
he came to find a family of Berbers.
While lost in depressed slumber one hot evening, he said,
a familiar sound of music, caught his attention.
It snaked out a narrow alleyway into the street.
Slowly, he strolled down the passageway
the hypnotic music seemed familiar, as he got closer.
The way opened into a cul-de-sac and a group of musicians
sitting around a centerpiece playing, oblivious to the gathering crowd
men, children and women, moving to the music.
Dancing, swaying, bending and waving
wrapping the music about them.
A young girl, dressed in a tight white dress spun seductively
Our wandering gypsy realized, he had found people of his kind.
He took out his lute and joined them.
In his later conversation with them, a kinship was discovered.
Accepted, he was asked to travel with them.
As destiny had it, sometime later, he married the young dancing girl in white
and lived with them henceforward. Homeless no more.
A heartwarming story, it was.
At times like this, it behooves us to appreciate
mankind is all of one kin, finding common traits
is a coalescing bond that heals spirits and bodies
only then we may truly realize that humanity is so precious.
Reza Ghadimi
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International Laugh at Work Week
4/6/2022
In the face of all the calamities in the world today, I thought that we could use a bit of humor. So, this is just in time, as this week is "International Laugh at Work Week"
I will leave you to yourself to work this out. Think back to your career and recall some funny moments in your practice. Having to deal with the public on a daily basis does create some interesting times. I am sure many were humorous. Use those recollections to brighten up your day.
I recall one busy Monday morning, when a new patient showed up at our orthopaedic practice with a broken arm. At check in, our busy receptionist - out of habit - asked; "do you have an appointment sir?" to which the irate patient snapped back, "No, I forgot to make an appointment before I broke my arm."
A colleague happened to be coming into the office at the time and witnessed the exchange. He calmed the scene by making light of the question, and loudly said: "Next time sir, please call us first, we may be able to break your arm much better than you can. After all, we are specialists, you know!" His statement caused a big laughter throughout the waiting room and put everyone at ease.
Google "Humor in Medicine" and you will get a site full of cartoons and jokes. Here is a tip for a rewarding practice; "Make every patient smile before he or she leaves your office."
HAVE FUN!
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All the kind People.
3/30/2022
A clap of thunder, this morning
Awakened me with a scare
Unexpected this early in the spring
Though the storm was welcoming
To our thirsty world
The morning news, however
Was anything but welcoming
And the media makes us think
That our world is full of evil.
But, I've found that people are inherently good
They will always return a good deed
I once helped a choking child on a train
His parents didn't speak English
But they shared their beans and tortilla with me.
Another time, I helped a lady find her car
In a sprawling mall's parking lot
She gave me a quarter
That's all the change I have, she said
I accepted with a smile, knowing it would please her.
In nature, it rains on the rich and the poor alike
Affluence carries no weight
I've been places
Where it rains all the time
Assaulting the desert grown skin of mine
Give me the sun baked sand anytime
I will appreciate it from
The shade of a Cottonwood tree.
Working in clinics around the world
I've come to understand thankfulness
In the eyes of the sick and the injured
Even when they say nothing
At times it makes me feel
That I've won the lottery
Lottery money will soon be gone
A kiss on the cheek from a little child
Will never, ever wear off
I wish I had spent more time there.
I like this world
And pray for it to share its rain
With me and all the kind people.
Reza Ghadimi
March 31, 2022
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GARDEN OF LIES AND DELIGHT
3/23/2022
Waiting for a train
In a drizzling rain
Under an inadequate shelter
Shivering wet, the young and the elder
Coming or going where
No one seems to know or care
Today is not so clear
Yesterday is gone, tomorrow not yet here
Do not know what is in the air
Confusion in all, and everywhere
I've many years to go
Will I have anything to show
Watching people through history
Adds only to the mystery
Why am I here, what's the reason
Am I better than an ant or a bison
If I was an ant I would be closer to the earth
And as a mole, closer yet
As a giraffe, further away
And a tree further skyway
Yet my feet firm on the ground
For it is where I belong
But as a man, I feel disengaged
Shiver in the rain, yet not be obliged
To feel the connection
To that which I am a section
Soon the train will be here
And take me away from this sphere
I will be warm, no matter the cost
Who cares if all out there is lost
For it's my thoughtless plight
To live in the garden of lies and delight.
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SPRING IN A TROUBLED WORLD.
3/16/2022
Spring will arrive on Sunday, March 20, 2022, at 11:33 a.m. EDT and 8:33 a.m. PDT in the Northern Hemisphere, marked by the Vernal (Spring) Equinox.
Noted by many cultures as New Year for thousands of years. Norouz, which means new day, is celebrated in many parts of the world. Zoroastrians were one of the early cultures that started their year thus. It is a time of purification and setting one’s intention for a new start. Other civilizations, such as Mayan also celebrated the Spring Equinox for hundreds of years before the Spanish arrived. Even the western cultures started the New Year in the spring till Julius Caesar changed it to January in 45 B.C.
Sadly, the political atmosphere of today's world leaves little to be cheerful about. The new war in Europe makes one wonder if, despite all our technology and availability of scientific information, we are getting smarter or more dim-witted. For, in this world of the twenty-first century, many nations are still fighting territorial wars, while the climate change is threatening the very nature of our planet, and people around the world live in squalid and inhumane conditions. Millions are dying from starvation and preventable diseases. Children play in running cesspools and breath acrid air of industrial residues. According to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), more than twelve million die every year due to unhealthy environments.
Spring will arrive this Sunday. It is said that "as the seasons form a great circle in their changing, so does the life of a person - from childhood to childhood." Since many of our leaders are acting dangerously childish, perhaps it is time for our younger generation to step up and save our world. So "Arise and start anew, for much awaits to be done. All things evolve from the creator, and all must revolve to complete the circle of life!" It is time to be completing this circle peacefully.
Despite all the tragedies in our world, I wish us all a better and Happy New Year! May it be a peaceful one!
Amen!
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THE INFINITY OF A CONSTANT
3/14/2022
Special, from the book Practicing from the Heart in the age of Technology on the occasion of March 14, International PI Day.
March 14 is International Pi day. No, not pie day, rather Pi day. The mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, approximated as 3.1415926535….. Thus, the fourteenth day of the third month of the year (3.14) is celebrated as Pi day by mathematicians.
The decimal number goes on forever. Contained within its string of decimals is every number pertaining to man’s life, history, nature and cosmos. And if the decimals are converted into letters, you will find every word that ever existed, spoken and written. All the infinite possibilities of words rest within this one simple circle.
In our bodies, too, the ratio of our consciousness or psyche to our physical being could be said to have infinite possibilities. Our body goes where the mind tells it. Our mind works by the demands of our soul/consciousness/intellect/psyche – or whatever we want to call it. Our actions are dictated by our desires, wishes and wants which in turn are based on our intellect, education, experience, and wisdom. The more of these combinations we use, the better will be the outcome of our deeds. The possibilities of our actions are infinite. The choices we make may depend on the advice of others, on our teaching, or on a variety of outside influences. But the end result is where we end up in our lives and what we have to live with. Limited knowledge leads to limited and fewer choices and actions, wiser decisions produce healthier and happier outcomes. There are many options to the constant of man’s need, and our technology could help those options. Indeed, it is a wonderful time of history we live in and if prudent decisions are made, a bright future will surely be ours.
Reza Ghadimi
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The audacity of existence
3/9/2022
The ongoing calamities around the world strains rational thinking. Just as we feel that we have the grasp of one tragedy, another explodes. We are being pulled in so many directions, that we may question the very significance of life itself. But if there is anything I know of life, of all the hopes, the happy days and the sad ones, of the days of blue skies and nights of new moon, of the sound of children at play and the pain of wounded, homeless, and hungry is that it challenges the very soul of us, the essence of our being, and the audacity of our existence.
But will life remember us? Will the wind sliding down the mountain recall how it made us shiver? Or the sun, how it burned our skin? Will our name be recalled in kindness, and will the birds that came to be fed by us, still visit our place? Will our children have the freedom to run in these woods? Will their children?
Whatever it is, will its endurance/survival benefit our progeny, our namesakes and brethren? What did our lives mean? Was it just a passing, or something will remain of it? Though we are just a traveler through these times, we learn from all that we see and pass it on to others passing us by. Hoping that they too add well to it as they pass it on, for this is our life until we die or live on if we are remembered well. Till then, let's not add to the crisis, let's stay peaceful, heal the needy, keep learning and teaching. Maybe then our existence will be audaciously meaningful.
Reza Ghadimi
March 10, 2022
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Beware the lions!
3/2/2022
On a nature documentary, awhile back, a couple of male zebras were shown fighting over their territory. They were so engrossed in fighting each other they did not notice lions stalking them, and ended up losing both their lives.
The new and ongoing military and political aggression around the world, reminds me so much of that grim and egotistic encounter. The most dangerous and life-threatening issue in our world today, is climate change. Yet the world's arrogant, narcissistic, and hostile leaders are completely ignoring this grave danger, playing the blame-game, and fighting each other for nonsensical issues. Yesterday's emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly, and the speed by which, the world countries reached consensus on condemning Russia's aggression was encouraging, to say the least. Hopefully, it says that the world is tired of the belligerencies of superpowers and is not going to put up with them anymore.
These hostilities add to the already intolerable refugee crisis around the world. According to The UN Refugee Agency, by the end of 2020, 82.4 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced. The new war in Ukraine is attracting much attention and everyone is talking about the refugees from that country. As unfortunate and inhumane, as this is, it must be remembered that the Ukrainian refugees are not replacing the other displaced people. They are joining them, exasperating an already dire situation.
As the climate change overtakes island countries and low laying ocean front communities, more people will be displaced, and this time, they will have no physical home to return to. By some estimates, more than half a billion people could lose their home with the rising seawater. Add to that, all who will be displaced by drought, deforestation, increased fires, floods and storms, and well over a billion could get affected. That will make the job of healthcare providers many times more challenging than Covid did. We must beware the lions of climate change, for they are stalking us and getting very close!
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AGAIN?
2/23/2022
I hear the bugles sounding
Ominously giving us warning
Raising the passion of the young, and
The fear of the old in our homeland
There is talk of an incursion
A neighbor is thinking of invasion
In a far distant land
Against it, is our responsibility to stand?
But we've been there and seen it all
When someone makes a cautionary call
The warnings, alarms, and fears of war
And how it could affect us all, by far
Everyone cries; this could be bad
But is it ours? Or we're being had?
Why are we involved, I cannot see
I could not sleep, as it haunted me
We scream, this is insanity
As it will involve all humanity
Like a wildfire, it could spread
It must be stopped, we should look ahead
We've seen and heard it in the past
As we were told and left aghast
And how it all came to pass
After many gave their lives in mass
As the politicians were talking and planning
Our soldiers were praying and dying
So we hope and pray for some relief
Oh Lord, please save us from this grief
It is a great storm coming our way
We feel powerless and can't keep it at bay
NOW, just think if there were no borders
No walls or fences to push us to corners
Mankind would be truly free
Of anguish and torment, we can all agree
But is that too sensible? I swear
Hence as doctors, we need to prepare
For, our way, the wounded will come
Our heroes, with unforeseen outcome
At some point there must be an awakening
To give reason, some enabling
That this world is too small to be divided
And expect that all be provided
Let's give all, some hope and room
Do away with fear and gloom
Freedom for mankind, then will be true
If we share our wisdom through and through
Only then can life have some meaning
Of liberty, choice and wealth of being!
Reza Ghadimi
February 2, 2022
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CONTRIBUTORS TO HISTORY AND OTHERS
2/16/2022
Presidents' Day is celebrated in February. Though only Washington and Lincoln are mentioned, two others were also born in this month. William Henry Harrison, born February 9, 1773, and Ronald Reagan on February 6, 1911.
But in February we celebrate the birthday of several other people as well, who were responsible for altering the course of history, or added to its importance. Here are a few, whom in my humble opinion, made a profound contribution to history:
February 4, 1902 - Aviator Charles Lindbergh, who flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean, first.
February 11, 1847 - Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb and other electronic devices.
February 15, 1564 - Galileo Galilei, who invented the telescope.
February 19, 1473 - Nicolas Copernicus, who theorized that the earth rotates around the sun and accurately predicted the cause of seasons.
February 27, 1902 - John Steinbeck, winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature.
And many others.
And a sad note of immense importance to remember; It was on February 29, 1692 - in Salem, Massachusetts that several girls were first accused of witchcraft. A practice that led to the demise of many innocent women in the most appalling manner.
Today's uncertain politics and conflicts around the world generate many emotions that, left unchecked, could easily lead to atrocities. Just last Sunday (2/13), a preacher in Tennessee, claimed he knew of six witches in his church. Which begs the question; have we really learned enough from our past to build a better tomorrow? The events of the past few years sure don't show it to be so. Fortunately, today's information technology helps us iron out much of the mayhem. All is needed, is our desire to use it to build bridges and do away with walls.
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February's intention
2/9/2022
February's intention
Is to keep the world in retention
To make us all rejuvenate
While all sleep and recuperate.
Makes you be in awe
Sleep, as we sleep
Dream, as we dream
Of the sickle moon
And gardens in June
Makes you question all
The beauty of life
Awaits, in peace or strife
After a calm, rain, or a storm
To bring anew, a rebirth and reform
Makes you marvel how
After the cold February nights
Behold the passion
Passion of spring
Spring of nature's renewal
Renewal of all that is tender
Tenderness of all that is warm
Warmth of all that will return
Return of the time of harvest
Harvest of all our labor
For nature will renew all.
Wonder not!
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Black History Month and other chapters of man's intolerance of himself.
2/2/2022
"Warm Bodies in White Coats" was the title of an article on June 9, 1975, of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Written by Robert C. Derbyshire, MD, Secretary of New Mexico Board of Medical Examiners. The article objected to foreign graduate doctors and people of color practicing medicine in the U.S. Stating: "Of primary concern is the foreign medical graduate, with inferior education and limited knowledge of English, who does not qualify for regular licensure in the United States but who, because of acute manpower shortages, is placed in a position of authority in a state hospital."
What was surprising was the fact that JAMA actually printed it. It received one of the highest numbers of protest letters to the article.
What is even more shocking is that AMA is still struggling with its more than 175 years of racist history. For it was just in 2018 that AMA finally acknowledged its shortcomings on racial injustice and, as its report to AMA's House of Delegates, described it: “rooted in white patriarchy and affluent supremacy.” Such racism has been detrimental to the health of many minority communities. As it was reported by Usha Lee McFarling in STAT, it further states: How AMA has excluded black, brown, and Native American physicians, espoused racism, and harmed people of color its members take an oath to not harm. The report further serves as AMA's reckoning with its racist past and its refusal to engage with many of the issues now roiling medicine and the country at large.
It goes on to say, “As a national leader in health care, it is incumbent on us to lean into our influence and play a more prominent role in the current national reckoning on equity and justice.”
Here, we can, sarcastically say: "NO, You think?"
In looking back at the last couple of centuries, one notices discrimination at all levels by all people. Though white man's bias stands out, others are found to be just as wrong. After all, white man wronged himselftoo. We have to remember that it was their hatred for the less fortunate that sent thousands of - so-called - criminals to the colonies in America and Australia. And in their fateful crimes executed upon others, none were worse than the genocidal wars upon the native people of these new lands. When Columbus landed in the Americas, there were more than one hundred million Native Americans here, today, there are less than two million. So it is with great regret to still be witnessing the incidents of the past few years and the horrifying event of January 6, 2021. It brings to surface the resentment of what it's like to feel prejudice and the extent people can go when feeling threatened. It is satisfying though to notice such awakening, worldwide. Perhaps now will come a time of recognition that the progenies of Adam are of one seed and that there is only one race on this small planet, and we are all members of the HUMAN RACE!
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AN INSECT'S IMMIGRATION
1/26/2022
"There is a man with a boil on his back in the suture room." The nurse at the urgent care, where I worked, informed me, one day, long ago.
The patient was a man in his forties with a large abscess on his upper back. On exam, it did not seem fluctuant and had an atypical and unusual characteristic to it. On further questioning, the patient stated that he had just returned from a hunting trip to Africa and on his last night there, had felt a bite like sting on his back and thinks that it might have been a spider bite.
I consulted a colleague, and we felt that an I & D was in order. After prepping and anesthetizing the area, we made a small incision. Seeing no discharge, we extended the opening and, to our surprise and horror, witnessed many tiny spider-like insects crawl out of the wound. We managed to stop them from spreading, irrigated the wound and dressed it.
Apparently, an African spider or insect, laid her eggs under the patient's skin, and he unknowingly aided their immigration to New Mexico. Our great hunter brought back more than one trophy from his African Safari.
Diagnosis: Immigrating insects from Africa.
The recent Covid 19 epidemic, and the speed in which it moved across the entire planet, reminded me of that incident. Which is a testament to the extent of the spread of contagions of all kind. Something to which we all need to be alarmed about, and rather than blaming a group, or individual, seriously think of the ramification of our travels around the world. That brings to mind still, another historical incident so similar and comparable to the paralyzing atmosphere of our views of today's pandemic.
Back in 1721, a smallpox epidemic in Boston, Massachusetts, raged uncontrollably. A man by the name of Cotton Mather learned from one of his slaves that, back in Africa, they used a very effective method of inoculation to combat smallpox. Mather convinced a physician named Boylston to try the radical procedure. Upon learning, where the idea originated, the public was enraged, so much so that they chased Boylston out of town and firebombed Mather's house. Today too, our incredulous people would rather believe in conspiracy theories that have nothing to do with science, and put themselves, their families, and society at risk by playing the blame game than seek treatment. It is noteworthy that it is our own self-serving actions that are increasing the spread of contagions. So, if we are not willing to change our wandering behavior, we should at least heed to the ways of controlling what we inadvertently allow to migrate with us.
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America's crowning state
1/19/2022
Far north of the American continent, lies our largest, most majestic and unspoiled state: Alaska. Unpopulated, wild, and full of splendor, it crowns our country to the envy of the world. Whales, foxes, seals, moose and bears are just a few of nature's living things that call it home. Eagles are everywhere, as are salmon, crabs and fish of all kind.
The volcanic heritage of the landscape reminds the visitors of its turbulent past, like the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, in Katmai National Park. In this land of snow and ice, one is surprised to find beaches with sand at 140o F, due to volcanic hot springs.
Man's presence, outside the native dwellings, is limited to a handful of towns, and fishing processing settlements along the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The population density is about one person per square mile. At that rate, there would be only 22 people on the Island of Manhattan (Vs 1.7 Million.) Such adverse conditions demand neighborliness and sociability for, services and help of any kind are sparse and very late in coming. That goes for daily needs that most of us take for granted, as well. Such as education and healthcare.
The geographic demand of such a vast area dictates that the only viable option of providing healthcare and education is through Telehealth, Telemedicine, and Tele-education. Such is true for many places in the lower 48 as well. States like Wyoming, New Mexico, Alabama, and Mississippi that, by order of their economy, terrain, people, and politics, are at a disadvantage and can also benefit from such programs. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is the true resiliency of our people. For despite the many challenges, we are still moving forward and learning that we have the means to care for each other and educate ourselves with the help of the wonderful tools at our disposal. Let's use them to heal and educate our nation for the betterment of our children and their children.
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Existential Principle
1/10/2022
"When you look at the sun, and its light - after traveling through space and time - comes to rest in the back of your eyes, and you feel its heat, and its essence, it becomes a part of you! And you a part of the sun." Grand-Lady used to say. "That is the oneness of all life, here (touching her heart), out there, in the universe, everywhere." Though she did not know the scientific doctrine or terminology of it, she fully understood the existential principle of nature and life.
It is interesting that Stephen Hawking, whose birthday was January 8, 1942, spent his life pursuing the Theory of Everything. He said, "My goal is a complete understanding of the universe; why it is as it is and why it exists at all." His lifetime of study of the universe and our place in it was to understand the ONENESS of all life. Something philosophers and thinkers have grappled with throughout history. And that may be understood as the existential principle of oneness of nature and life.
It is further interesting, how our western civilization assesses existence. For as philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir whose birthday was January 9, 1908, formulated the philosophy of existentialism which is the idea that human beings should define their own existence, without regard to culture, society or religion - and I might add; science.
The problem is, the farther one dwells on such thinking, the more one disconnects himself from the oneness that binds all life together. And that is when the separation of cultures, races, nationalities, and even genders develop. But none of that is natural. It is self-taught and assumed. For, as Beauvoir wrote in her book The Second Sex, "One is not born a woman, one becomes one." That the difference between the sexes was the result of culture, not nature. It was this thinking that founded the modern feminist movement. Such beliefs and others like Black Lives Matter, White Nationalism, Latino Power, etc. divide us even more. The existential principle of life is the unique oneness of all living things. Once we truly understand that we are all a part of one another, caring for all humanity and life becomes easier and natural.
This is what medicine in its core teaches us as well: CARING FOR ALL, BENEFITS ALL!
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New Year Morning
1/4/2022
We woke up on the morning of the New Year
Full of good wishes for all
Spreading our hopes like the tail feathers of Sultan's peacock
With a thousand colorful eyes, displaying our desire
For a peaceful world, oblivious to the stormy weather outside.
It's been a long time since we've been face to face
Dancing cheek to cheek, being closer than six feet
Still we wash our hair in a fragrance from far distant lands
In the hope of it catching attention even from afar
But it's hard, flirting through masked lips.
God knows the world is full of tired faces
Still, we fill our bird feeders and watch the birds
Cheeringly circle it like worshipers around a saint's shrine
In the hope that others too are called to it
And someday soon, we may watch the birds together.
If history has taught us anything
Is that we've been here before and
Man's genius always finds a way out
But this time, there seems to be
More deniers of the truth.
Wishful we are though, that despite it all
This storm too will pass, skies clear, and
Our children will play together again
Lovers get to flirt and kiss again, and
We get to take our masks off and say hello.
Here is to the coming days of the New Year!
May they be happy ones.
Reza Ghadimi
January 2022
Practicing From the Heart
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