Was on the phone today with the doctor who the movie “Patch Adams” was based on.
He’s working on an event called the Global Health & Humanitarian Summit at Emory University– which is intended to rival the Global Economic Summit. 🙂
(www.emoryimvc.org)
Here is a short video where he talks about contemplating suicide, and what he decided to do with his life instead…
?”I made a decision to be a Scientist of Joy for the rest of my life, and then out of my science background, I decided to be a doctor for the poor. And the other decision had to do with myself, and how I could design myself into the best possible instrument of peace.” ~Patch Adams
His purity of focus is what strikes me. From wanting to be a “scientist of joy,” he extrapolates out to his medical practice and his personal philosophy of living. I bet this purpose statement also affects how he approaches relationships with family and friends, how he votes, how he spends his leisure time, and probably even what he dreams about.
Having such a disciplined focus seems key to unifying the potentially segmented facets of our busy lives.
If the guys on the death rows had a chance to make their guard’s lives more joyful, it would be the same. We are all meant to die and yet eternal life is near as well. Suicide, natural death or sentence. Joy is a gift to everybody. It is one’s choice?