Twenty Plus Years as a Physician Distilled Down to a Few Words

As a doctor, I've spent decades immersed in textbooks, medical school lectures, patient visits, and endless seminars. Yet, it was in a single, quiet hour of reflection—fueled by curiosity and, yes, Earl Grey tea—that I uncovered my most powerful lessons about true healing. Here is what surfaced from the depths of that pause:

First, health isn't complicated—it's profoundly simple, yet profoundly misunderstood. We cling to complexity as if health must require intricate strategies, yet genuine healing thrives in simplicity. Eat more plants, move your body daily, honor rest, quiet your mind, and nurture relationships that matter. It’s not rocket science; it’s broccoli science. Simplicity heals; complexity confuses.

Second, symptoms aren’t intruders; they're intimate conversations between you and your body. Pain, fatigue, insomnia, hot flashes (hello, menopause)—these aren’t just irritations to silence; they’re your body's only language to signal imbalance. Instead of quickly muting these messages, lean in and listen. Decoding “symptom-ese” guides us straight to root causes, and ultimately, real solutions.

Third, laughter is deeper medicine than we ever imagined. I'm not talking about superficial amusement at a witty meme; I'm talking about that soul-shaking laughter, the kind that shifts your biochemistry, neutralizes stress, releases endorphins, and knits you into deeper connection with others. Patients who embrace humor, especially in the face of daunting diagnoses, flourish in ways conventional medicine struggles to explain. Joy is healing at the cellular level.

Fourth, humility is medicine’s hidden superpower. Doctors often carry the burden of omniscience—but let me share medicine’s best-kept secret: we don’t know everything, and that's okay. Healing thrives in the fertile space of curiosity and collaboration, not in pretense or ego. Admitting uncertainty unlocks doors; pretense closes them.

Fifth, the patient is always the greatest teacher. Medical school prepared me to diagnose diseases, but it was my patients who taught me how to heal. Their resilience, vulnerability, wisdom, and sometimes hilariously raw honesty (“Doc, kale tastes like sadness!”—actual patient wisdom) have been my deepest source of insight.

And finally, true healing always, always begins and ends in love and compassion. Sure, prescribing medication or recommending lifestyle changes is part of my job description, but genuine healing transcends prescriptions. It occurs in the compassionate moment of seeing and truly honoring another’s pain, affirming their worth, and holding space for their journey. Compassion transforms care into healing.

So here’s decades of medical experience distilled into one transformative hour:
Health is beautifully simple.
Symptoms are sacred messengers.
Laughter is cellular medicine.
Humility unlocks deeper healing.
Patients are profound teachers.
Compassion is the cornerstone of healing.

Oh, and don’t underestimate the restorative magic of a really good cup of Earl Grey tea!