Tucked away in the crevices of the Mountains of Northern NM, under the canopy of the Milky Way Galaxy, a delightful lake fed by a small creek and surrounded by high cliffs awaits the lucky visitor. At night, the sound of the running brook is broken only by an occasional coo of an owl, the jump of a trout, or the rustling of a marmot. Even the wind seldom visits the deep canyon, in fear of disturbing its tranquility.  Its name I will not reveal, as it may spoil it's magic by an influx of people. Such places, however, abound in this blessed world of ours.

I've been to many, walking a thousand beaches, canyons, lakes and mountains. The beauty of a fjord, for example, whether in Norway, Canada or Chile, is breathtaking and inspirational. It shows the creator's design of all good things around us. A migrating eagle, crane, starling, or butterfly flying over them, won't - even for an instant - think of claiming them or declaring ownership over them. Rather, they just appreciate the blessing of the nature beneath them. It is only man who feels compelled to take ownership of all he sees. Has it not been for this desire to possess, mankind too would be freer.

Still it is a wonderful world, even in this turbulent era of changes.  Lets hope and pray that it's magic is not lost and that our children will be able to dream of a future full of opportunities awaiting them. Possibilities of becoming a scientist, artist, explorer or a craftsman. Imagine all the Beethovens, Pasteurs, Galileos, Michael Angelos and the like who are waiting to start and get discovered, and how they would add to the richness of us all. As we say goodbye to a chaotic year, lets work to make the new one, a happy, thriving and healthy time for all humanity.

Not long ago, riding an old train through the jungles of Borneo, a family member was reminded of reading the arduous journey of earlier adventurers through those very woods. The dangers involved, and the success rate of finishing the trip unscathed. Yet today, even the relative comfort of watching the world pass by, through the windows of a railway car, seem demanding. We have come a long way in the past two hundred years of human history, and moving ever faster into the future. 
 
I was glued to the round black and white TV screen in the 1960s when Allen Shepard - in a space suit - blasted off into his 5-minutes trip to space on a Redstone rocket. That trip took years of training and preparation by Shepard, and millions of dollars of the national budget. Last week Shepard's daughter; Laura Shepard Churchley made the same trip with five others with literally no training and minimal preparation - in the airline type cabin of the Blue Origin. 
 
In medicine, too, our advances have been phenomenal. When Dr. Salk developed the polio vaccine, it took him more than ten years of research and development. In contrast, the first vaccine for Covid-19 was ready to use in about a year. Such advances and progress are confusing to many and is used to create political havoc among the people. Unfortunately, the same method of sharing information on the Internet is employed to spread misinformation. The beginnings of most changes are confusing and challenging to mankind, but it will clarify itself in time and what comes of it, is usually lasting. We are at the edge of magnificent changes and revolutions. The next century will propel mankind into a future unimaginable by many. Whether it will be toward a true utopia of possibilities or the chaos of dystopian nightmares is up to us. Guiding civilization in the right path is a task, all mankind needs to undertake now. We can start by basing our own education on scientific facts and protect the resources of our world as we move forward.

A few years ago, on a cold January morning, a man walked unto the L’Enfant Plaza subway platform in Washington, DC, carrying a violin case. He placed the case on the ground, took out a violin and started playing. Hundreds of people passed by. Some glanced over at him, some listened while waiting for their train. A few dropped coins and money into the open case. He played for about forty-five minutes and then left. He had collected about 30 dollars in coins.

Three nights previous to that morning, the same man had played the same piece of music on the same exact violin to a sold-out audience at Boston’s Stately Symphony Hall. Admission tickets were at an average of $150.00.
The man was Joshua Bell; one of the world’s renowned violinists of our time, and the violin, a three and half million-dollar Stradivarius, handmade in 1713. His performance at the subway station in DC was part of a study arranged by The Washington Post. After The Post published the study, the DC people demanded his return and so months later, he returned to DC to play in the main hall of Union Station for a large and engaged audience.

Bell says: “When hundreds of people are paying hundreds of dollars to hear him play music that is hundreds of years old. It warrants perfection.” That is what we should feel about performing medicine. The person trusting us with his medical issue needs to see the hundred years of accumulated knowledge of medicine passed on to us by our educators to play magic in treating him or her. That happens by showing a little concern about his or her problem.

Today, the pandemic is making many to question our science, our knowledge, and our profession.  The result is taxing our healthcare system, and many of our colleagues are burned out and quitting, adding further to the burden of those staying behind.  Our perception of our patients is that they should trust us, and we expect them to follow our treatment regiment.  But when they show up sick, while denying that which we have been impressing on them, well, one can see how it could vex all sides.  These are challenging times, as many sides seem to have lost faith in each other.  For us to gain back the trust of our patients, our professionalism must shine brightly.

If this pandemic taught us anything, it is the degree to which mankind is willing to act or react to what he does not agree with, regardless of the consequences. 

A group of servicemen were working on the power lines in our area last week, and they needed to work on our property.  I asked them if they were vaccinated, and they said, no, that they didn't believe in it.  They seemed irritated by my question, so I changed the subject and talked about other things, till we established a quasi sort of relationship.  Then I asked them to educate me on why they didn't believe in the vaccine or the virus.  They began a long and often interrupted - by each other - rambling of their reasons.  Finally, the common single agreed upon motive seemed to be that they didn't like the government mandating vaccination.  I found their reasoning preposterous, if not paradoxical.
In the last century, after numerous wars and conflicts, the UN Charter was established to build conformity of ideas.  Yet the last few years have seen the demise of these principles. It seems that the leaders of our world are intent on dismantling the whole unity of our world, rather than strengthening its accord. The real confusing fact is that these are the very countries that worked so hard to unite us in the first place. 
If we are to build a productive future, we have to learn from our history. That however does not seem to be the case.  This quagmire of ideas and the conflicts it creates, sickens many and the confusing messages further bewilder the people.  The resulting effect fills our hospitals, ICUs, clinics and health centers to a point that taxes the very foundation of our profession.  Still, we are asked to be mindful not to add to the disorder and care for our patients, even when their ill is self-inflicted.  But that is what makes us professionals.  Keep up the good work dear colleagues; the history of this era will talk kindly of us.