Loving My Community

I’ve used February, the month home to Valentine’s Day, to think about love.  I’ve thought about fierce self-love (Love, Actually, Is All Around), loving my patients (Do I Have To Love My Patients?), and loving my loved ones (Lessons Learned: Reflections on Prioritizing Relationships in Academic Medicine).  Over the past month, I’ve found something else I absolutely love: all of you.  I get the most significant boost when you extraordinary humans comment on my posts.  (And I know you’re extraordinary humans because I know so many of you personally!)  My heart swells when one of you stops me in a hallway to tell me that something I wrote resonated with you or maybe even helped you the very moment you were reading it.  When I open my inbox and see an email from one of you?  A jolt of joy.  I have been reminded of this beautiful community I’m so lucky to be a part of.  Many doctors, but also lots of nurses, respiratory therapists, ECMO perfusionists, students, and people outside of medicine.  Mostly women, a small but mighty cohort of men.  People who just want to make a difference in the world.  To take care of others in their most vulnerable moments.  There’s so much love here.  Thank you for being in this community.

I'll keep this short as a belated Valentine’s gift to you all.  I’ll end by asking for your thoughts on love:

Where have you felt love today?

From where have you allowed yourself to receive love today?

Where did you find some unexpected sweetness today?

When did you experience awe today?

I’m signing off on my February with all of my love.