A reflection on Love

I Corinthians13:1 If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Painstakingly ground and fashioned

Paint-

Degrees

Distinctions,

Travels,

Languages

Skills

Project a tribe, a spirit,

Facade of perfection

Lifeless portrait

Behind them I hide

My soft, seeking heart

Torn and jagged edges

My ragged, dust blown soul

Love

Is the artesan well, springing ever slow

That reveals my scars- naked and clean

When I accept them, without denial,

I am ready to accept,

to embrace,
to see,

You.

How to study for Medical School pt. 2-- Owning it.

"I was disappointed to see only forty 40 of a class of 175 in lecture today" began one professor's email to the class last semester.  At first I bought his idea-- come to class, take notes; that's THE WAY to do it, right? Hard work, endurance, training to go without sleep, right?

 I did it that way the first block of each semester-- each time with some professor or friend's voice in my head.  Each time I tried, I had less time to study, sleep, and exercise.  I performed adequately, but not at my best, during exams.

What was wrong? I had not taken ownership of the class and of the material, of my learning style, and of all of the options available to me.

Each semester, my best blocks were those in which I attended NO classes physically, but used my time to read the course book and stream lectures online instead.  During these blocks, I was well rested, exercised daily, and cooked my own food.

Taking ownership of the material meant waking up in the morning not because of a class but because of my responsibility.  It meant actively studying in the library with a friend instead of passively sitting in the lecture hall. It meant understanding that rest and cognitive ability were paramount to success.

This was difficult.  It was difficult because the only measure of success is just that; not martyrdom, not suffering-- only mastery.