Iowa Specialty Hospital

Notes from Steve

June 21, 2018

Exhilaration. This past weekend, I and a bunch of Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics friends and 4000 other people did the BACooN Ride in central Iowa.  It was a 75 mile ride on the trails, and it was 100 degrees. There was plenty of bacon and beer along the way.  It was pure awesome-ness.  At one point about 2/3rds into the ride, Dr.’s Palit and Bose and myself were cruising along at 27 mph (which is really fast) and it was nothing short of fantastic (scary and death defying, but fantastic nevertheless).  

My friend in Chicago told me this morning that 14 people were killed over the weekend.  “Heat supposedly makes people act in weird ways.”  Hmmm -- I’ve noticed that people are in a edgy “don’t look at me” mood as of late.  Perhaps it’s the weather … perhaps it’s the time of year, or perhaps the culture is just ramped up right now.  

My coach told me a couple of weeks ago that we need to look at the things we defend the most.  Do I argue a point against a lot of people that weighs on me to the point of angst or frustration?  Perhaps -- instead -- we allow for the heat, reflect on our arguments, and “groove into the spaces”*.  Find your priorities this summer.  Find time for exhilaration, and find time for ice cream with the family.  Embrace the heat.  Put your “edginess and anger” on hold until February.  This is the best time of the year!!

*”What?”  A professor of philosophy stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was full.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and watched as the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The professor then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They chuckled and agreed that it was indeed full this time.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled the remaining open areas of the jar. “Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar signifies your life. The rocks are the truly important things, such as family, health and relationships. If all else was lost and only the rocks remained, your life would still be meaningful. The pebbles are the other things that matter in your life, such as work or school. The sand signifies the remaining “small stuff” and material possessions.

If you put sand into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same can be applied to your lives. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are truly important.

Pay attention to the things in life that are critical to your happiness and well-being. Take time to get medical check-ups, play with your children, go for a run, write your grandmother a letter. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, or fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first – things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand.

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