If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.
--Meister Eckhart
As my UB Dental run finishes up I'm starting to complete some patient cases. This week the following happened:
Monday: My crazy patient loved - LOVED - his new dentures. I made the pointy teeth extra pointy per his request and he thought the sweet chrome (his words - not mine) was really, really cool. When he left he told me that I had made his life better. Gratitude.
Today: This morning my patient told me that she had reason to smile again because of her new bridge. She asked me if she could hug me and told me that because of me she isn't scared to go to the dentist anymore. Gratitude. Then, later in the day a patient I've worked on for the last 2 years wished me health, love and happiness. She hugged me, too. Gratitude.
These are just a few example of gratitude. Use them as a starting point for your own moments. Say please and thank you. Tell someone they did a good job. Let someone know if they make a difference in your day. Even a silent smile can be enough recognition.
Gratitude.
Kind of reminds me of a passage in the book I'm reading now, The Philosopher and the Wolf. It's an excellent book. An excerpt of a larger discussion on how people act towards those "weaker" than them, including animals, and how it reflects on who they really are.
ReplyDelete"If we humans place such disproportionate weight on motives and if these are simply masks that hide an ugly truth beneath, then to understand human goodness we must strip away those motives. When the other person is powerless, you have no self-interested motive for treating them with decency or respect. They can enither help nor hinder you. you do not fear them, nor do you covet their assistance. In such a situation, the only motive you can have for treating them with decency and respect is a moral one: you treat them in this way because that is the right thing to do. And you do this because that is the sort of person you are."
The upshot:
"I always judge a person by how they treat those who are weaker then them..."
Thats a great passage (I want to read that book). I really dislike people that are only nice to you when they need something. We're all guilty to some degree of doing that. Sometimes I think you can't help but subconsciously be nicer to someone when there is a positive outcome in it for you.
ReplyDeleteStill, I agree. The true testament of character is how you treat someone who has nothing to offer but themselves.
On a side note, I went to the zoo this weekend and made a point to see the gorillas (re: go visit Ishmael). He made eye contact and I suddenly felt like he was reading me.
I think you're both ungrateful jerks and I hate you. :) JUST kidding, I love you guys. Great post Ryan. And, yay, again, even though I already told you that after each of these things happened.
ReplyDeleteI have no insightful quotes to contribute like Ben, but that World's Most Awesome Dentist trophy is on its way. I'll be sure to give it to you, but only if you give me something in return. Something really good. I'm pretty much entitled to it. But. Whatever.
;)