The holidays are rapidly approaching. They rush toward us with an expectation of getting noticed. Thanksgiving and Christmas melding together as consumerism reaches a feverish pitch as the weeks of November drift into December. Black Friday becomes Black Thanksgiving Night and soon there will no Thanksgiving pause before the madness begins.  I am thinking about […]

When I think of living a meaningful life, I think of a man named Tom who built a house in Sunzu Village, Rwanda. This house was perched perilously on the side of a mountain overlooking a lake and a volcano. He could have built this house quickly, however, he chose the slow pace. His neighbors […]

One man’s death led me to understand how we can die a noble death. I didn’t think much about death or dying before medical school, much less about sacrifice or what constitutes a noble act. I chose to be a doctor because that’s what seemed like a noble calling to me. Little did I know […]

My patient declared as she lies on her death bed, “It’s ok, it will be a good death.” This unexpected phrase launched me on an inspiring quest for the secrets of a good death. I discovered wisdom and hope from those on the precipice of awareness of their own mortality.  A good death is not an […]

When I began writing today about legacy, I wanted to share about writing a personal legacy statement. However, though I will one day share with you these thoughts and the steps to building your Legacy, I couldn’t today. Today I must write about the Legacy of someone I love. He walked to his final destiny last night. […]