Thread by @medicalaxioms

If patients are the enemy, call in sick today.
Set to work on your spiritual condition.*
Keep calling in every day until you’ve set it right.

*I use this term a lot and people don’t know what I am talking about.

Spiritual Condition manifests as compassion, forgiveness, empathy, gratitude, generosity. It’s not those things though. It the feeling of wholeness, safety, strength, connectedness, appreciation.

For many humans, spiritual condition is something that happens to them. An accident. “I’m having a good day today!”

Same with bad days. “Everyone is a jerk!” “I’m so unlucky!”

This serves many purposes, mainly that your spiritual condition becomes someone else’s fault.

If you can’t call in spiritually sick today because you have to pay bills, etc., do what I staterted doing about 15 years ago.

Study and learn from your patients.

Some have illness and pain that should crush their spirit yet there they are, asking how your day is going.

Facing the end of life, they say, “Thank you so much for all your kindness and help.”

Notice the patient who apologizes for pooping in the bed as they are dying. Learn from this person. They might be dying in the physical, but their spiritual condition may be 1000x yours.

This is where I began 15 years ago. Ona day feeling angry, resentful and tired. Unappreciated and exhausted. I saw this old woman who was headed toward death. The worst kind of “case.” Decubitus ulcers, alone and impoverished, chronic diseases with acute frosting on top...

She said, “You look down today, doctor. What’s wrong?”

Without thinking, I started to tell her “what was wrong.” After a minute, I looked over and she had her eyes closed, nodding. A very powerful feeling come over me. Shame and ingratitude. Utter embarrassment. I stopped.

“What’s your secret?” I asked. I felt like a little kid sitting down at his desk on the first day of kindergarten.

She went on to list a few basic concepts. (Things, BTW, that I repeat over and over right here like a carpenter driving a nail):

Basic Foundation of a Healthy Spiritual Condition
- notice your good fortune
- turn your attention toward the suffering of others
- look for places to help
- loneliness magnifies pain
- if you feel bad, stop doing the things you think make you feel better and try something new

- don’t hand the reins of you happiness to other people and expect them to ride you to peace & contentment
- ignore the “rightness” of your own labels. “Friend” and “enemy” are characteristics of your mind, not of other people

Unlike millionaire self-help gurus and other thieves, I’m not here to tell you the solution. I have nothing to sell on this topic.

If patients are your enemy, it is a symptom.
Your spiritual condition is unhealthy.
There are many cures. Some work.
Seek and suffer less.

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