I grabbed lunch with my buddy, Alan, today at the noodle house. Even though fortune cookies were not invented in China, it is always fun checking out the words of wisdom found in them.
On the back of the fortune, there was a short lesson in Chinese, free of charge.
I usually expect a useful phrase such as "Good Morning", "Where is the Bathroom", and "I have a prosthetic leg...Can I borrow a wrench".
But today, I got this Chinese lesson. For most people, it would have been pretty useless. Surprisingly enough, though, I am a doctor so I got the appropriate fortune cookie.
In addition to reviewing my Mandarin, it did give me an opportunity to think about my choice of careers. As I've had the privilege of working with more and more patients and families, I've witnessed and at times played a part in the suffering of so many patients and their families. I've also seen incredible strength, perserverance, loyalty and dedication. I think one of my roles is to try to ease the suffering of the body and soul. But, my main goal is to help individuals at times of hardship to find that strength within themselves to face their challeges when they seem to be unsurmountable.
So, "Wo Shi Yisheng"...and I'm becoming more okay with that.