A Note to Our Students

It is the wee hours of the morning over here and I am up about rooting around for some protein and taking some gentle laps around my house. Healing from a bilateral mastectomy takes focus and intention and it’s not all that predictable what I might want or need at any given moment! That said, all the basic ingredients: food, water, rest, deep sleep, quiet hours, healthy food, a handful of the right supplements are all going far. The secret ingredient of course is love, which I seem to have in spades. Pouring in from around the world in the form of emails, cards, little gifts, flowers, soup, backrubs, prayers, reiki, you name it really,  I could not be more bathed in the love and affection of people whose lives I have apparently touched- including yours. Thank you for your lovely poster, your get-well cards and your Valentines, all brightening up my kitchen, an entire room that has been transformed into a kind of a giant love letter to me. My spirits are lifted and my heart is full; should my mood try to flag, it simply cannot.

What can I tell you about this part of my story? As students of homeopathy, naturopathic medicine or simply life, I want you to hear this at the very deepest level. Everything you know, everything you do, every way in which you touch the lives of other people- your family, your friends, those in your community, your patients….. matters and it matters that you give of yourself in ways that are authentic to you, but don’t hold back, don’t be stingy! Couch your work in this kind of posture, find ways to contribute and to give back, remember always that a generosity of spirit will fill your life with gladness, you will never regret giving of yourself. And remember in the clinic, that all the knowledge and information and ability to apply it correctly is essential but that it should always be offered with a loving and caring heart.

I also want to thank you for holding Paul in your thoughts and for being present to him during the NESH weekend. Of course it was not easy for him to leave my side during these times, but I pushed him to do it. First of all it gave members of my extensive local support team a chance to step up and well, we hate to disappoint our students! We both hope you learned a bunch and Paul will look forward to seeing you next time.