I finally got chance to read Dr. Paul Kalanithi’s memoir “When Breath Becomes Air” over Christmas break. It really was a heavy punch in the gut, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was such a needed reminder of the brevity of life, the sacredness of the medical profession, and the immeasurable value of our human relationships, particularly those between physician and patient.

          Early in the book, Dr. Kalanithi asks the question, “If the unexamined life was not worth living, was the unlived life worth examining” (31)? In Dr. Kalanithi’s life is an example of both a profound reflection coupled with an active and intentional engagement of people, even at great personal cost.

          I was particularly challenged by his view of medicine, and of his patients. Regarding his work, he writes, “People often ask if it is a calling, and my answer is always yes. You can’t see it as a job, because if it’s a job, it’s one of the worst jobs there is” (151). He was referring to his field of neurosurgery, but I think this can be said of the medical profession as a whole. Sure the pay is substantial, whatever field you pursue, but the personal cost is steep, even after the training is done.

          And let’s not forget the enormity of assuming the care of a person. For Dr. Kalanithi, he was responsible for not just his patients’ physical health, but the entire weight of the whole of the individual. His call was to “protect life—and not merely life but another’s identity, it is perhaps not too much to say another’s soul…” (98). He understood that “all of medicine…trespasses into sacred spheres. Doctors invade the body in every way imaginable. They see people at their most vulnerable, their most sacred, their most private” (49). It is a high calling , and a tremendous privilege to become a physician.

          What hit most poignantly was the stark contrast of the sense of purpose and urgency reflected in Dr.Kalanithi’s life, even before his cancer diagnosis, to where I am at now. Sadly I confess that 2016 has slowly drifted into a complacency where personal relationship (both with God and people) and my own personal calling have become obligations, and entertainment designed for rest and renewal has crossed into the realm of numbing escape. This was a much welcomed wake-up call.

          God, forgive me for mistaking physical presence with connection, thinking competency and efficiency was enough, and treating the sacred as ordinary. Grant me conviction and courage, by Your grace and through Your Spirit, to make 2017 different.