Gandhi et al.
View Separately

Gandhi et al.

I just returned from a short trip to the Dominican Republic.  I initially thought that the DR was an oversized Cancun, but this trip changed my mind.  My sister - who is currently living there - was my tour guide.  The highlight of the trip was Cabarete. The majority of the non-locals at the beach aren’t travelers from what I could gather.  They were living/working in the small beach town, and I left the DR inspired as a result of the mostly Europeans’ outlook on life.   I’m currently finishing my second year of med school, so I brought my USMLE Step 1 prep book with me to the island, and I opened it up on my lap as soon as my butt hit the lounge chair.  A Dutch man approached me, took my book from my hands, and closed it at the foot of the chair.   Him: “You’re studying medicine, correct?”Me: “Yeah…how did you know?”  Him: “I was just watching you walk from the restaurant to your chair, and your behavior reminded me of a doctor.  You’re American, I presume?”Me: “Yeah.  Why?”Him: “Americans work too much.  I suggest you just relax and enjoy your vacation.” My book remained closed for the rest of the day.  I played frisbee with a kid on the beach. I shared some jokes with my sister.  Admired the dozens of kite surfers.  Tasted the salt water.  Got a sun burn.  Spoke with some locals.  Bought a mango from a Haitian lady.  Soaked up the smell of the sand. We spend so much time worrying about our happiness in the future that we forget all about enjoying the present.  In med school, the majority of our time that isn’t spent sleeping is spent with our heads in the books.  We complain of the misery, madness, and frustration that comes with the demands of our program, yet we trudge on because we crave a future in which we enjoy financial stability, a dream career, and the respect and admiration carried by physicians.  Yet there are far too many variables at play to guarantee that all of this hard work will bring us happiness in the future.   On the other hand, we have complete control over our present.  The variables are laid out on the table in clear view.  You can dwell on the negative or focus on the positive.  In the future, your career-driven focus will hopefully pay off.  But it’s not a guarantee.  Taking time to visit friends, write letters, kiss your significant other, savor your dessert, indulge a runner’s high,  smile like a unicorn while plunging face first into the waves off the North coast of the Dominican Republic: In the present, there are various devices which can guarantee you happiness.   When you’re on your death bed, you won’t dwell on the test score or the career status that were part of an indeterminable future. Rather, you’ll reflect on those little guarantees that you indulged in throughout your ever-changing present. Reform Yourself.  Tomorrow could end today.
Pop-upView Separately

I just returned from a short trip to the Dominican Republic.  I initially thought that the DR was an oversized Cancun, but this trip changed my mind.  My sister - who is currently living there - was my tour guide.  The highlight of the trip was Cabarete.

The majority of the non-locals at the beach aren’t travelers from what I could gather.  They were living/working in the small beach town, and I left the DR inspired as a result of the mostly Europeans’ outlook on life.  

I’m currently finishing my second year of med school, so I brought my USMLE Step 1 prep book with me to the island, and I opened it up on my lap as soon as my butt hit the lounge chair.  A Dutch man approached me, took my book from my hands, and closed it at the foot of the chair.  

Him: “You’re studying medicine, correct?”
Me: “Yeah…how did you know?”  
Him: “I was just watching you walk from the restaurant to your chair, and your behavior reminded me of a doctor.  You’re American, I presume?”
Me: “Yeah.  Why?”
Him: “Americans work too much.  I suggest you just relax and enjoy your vacation.”

My book remained closed for the rest of the day.  I played frisbee with a kid on the beach. I shared some jokes with my sister.  Admired the dozens of kite surfers.  Tasted the salt water.  Got a sun burn.  Spoke with some locals.  Bought a mango from a Haitian lady.  Soaked up the smell of the sand.

We spend so much time worrying about our happiness in the future that we forget all about enjoying the present.  In med school, the majority of our time that isn’t spent sleeping is spent with our heads in the books.  We complain of the misery, madness, and frustration that comes with the demands of our program, yet we trudge on because we crave a future in which we enjoy financial stability, a dream career, and the respect and admiration carried by physicians.  Yet there are far too many variables at play to guarantee that all of this hard work will bring us happiness in the future.  

On the other hand, we have complete control over our present.  The variables are laid out on the table in clear view.  You can dwell on the negative or focus on the positive.  In the future, your career-driven focus will hopefully pay off.  But it’s not a guarantee.  Taking time to visit friends, write letters, kiss your significant other, savor your dessert, indulge a runner’s high,  smile like a unicorn while plunging face first into the waves off the North coast of the Dominican Republic: In the present, there are various devices which can guarantee you happiness.  

When you’re on your death bed, you won’t dwell on the test score or the career status that were part of an indeterminable future. Rather, you’ll reflect on those little guarantees that you indulged in throughout your ever-changing present.

Reform Yourself.  Tomorrow could end today.

The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.
Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist
Don’t over-complicate.  Enjoy the free things in life.
View Separately

Don’t over-complicate.  Enjoy the free things in life.

(via velvetfangs)

Source: jenngofett

Have Fun, Always

Have Fun, Always

 

When you’re lying on your death bed
In the distant (or not so distant) future, 
what questions will you ask?
How you should have spent more time at the office?
How you should have pushed your kids harder in school?
How you wished you had been skinnier?
Finished at the top of your class? 
How you should have saved more money?
How you should have fought for something important?
How you should have stood up for what’s right?
How you should have shown compassion for someone in need?
How you wished you had listened to your parents?
How you wished you had stopped to smell the flowers?
To admire the stars?  The moon?  The smell of your lover’s hair?
How you wished you could go back in time and change this or that?
How you wished you could have seen your favorite band live on stage?
How you wished you could have run a marathon?
Won a contest?  Achieved something great?
Always have fun.  Because when your life is coming to a close 
in the distant (or not so distant) future, 
the answers to these questions won’t matter.  
Don’t wait until tomorrow.  
Start having fun now.

 

Reform Yourself.

My own adaptation would read…”If you spent as much time exploring life as you spend glorifying the awesome lives of others, you’d have a story worth telling, too.”
Pop-upView Separately

My own adaptation would read…”If you spent as much time exploring life as you spend glorifying the awesome lives of others, you’d have a story worth telling, too.”

View Separately

(via the-c0llision)

Source: elean0re

The words of Banksy (?)
View Separately

The words of Banksy (?)

View Separately

POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE

If you get a warm tingling feeling from watching this video, it tells me you’ve accomplished something great in your life.  Not many people in my life have understood my life to punish my body and persevere through challenging physical punishment and reward on a daily basis.  But, if you felt that tingling feeling…you and I have something in common.