Longevity

As the years go by, we accumulate birthday experiences that stick in the mind. The more years, the more memories we stash away.

My birthday this year will be one of those forever events. A band from England hosted a gathering for me and 40,000 of my friends. Mick Jagger somehow forgot to sing the birthday song, but he more than made up for it with Satisfaction, Wild Horses, and hits he’s been singing for nearly every year of my life.

A comment he made: ‘The first time the Rolling Stones played Vancouver was 59 years ago.’ I try to wrap my head around the value he and the band have brought to the world and the persistence it requires to keep putting out the message, over and over, for 62 years now. It takes commitment to believe your song is what the world needs. It takes an enormous belief in oneself to think that your message is important enough. It means listening to the supporters and learning from the naysayers, not letting either of them distract from what must be done.

You probably have not been a dentist, physician, dental hygienist, speech language pathologist, physical therapist or other health care provider for over 60 years. Your career may not last as long as a singer in a rock and roll band, but it still requires persistence and a belief that your message is important enough to keep pushing it out there, despite the supporters and detractors tempting you to take a different path.

What can fuel this fire? Dr. Pankey talked about the rewards that come to a dentist when four pillars of health are balanced. As he studied human behavior, his mentor shared teachings from Aristotle that ensuring a balance of work, play, love, and worship resulted in rewards. I’ve always understood these concepts in the most helpfully vague ways – there are as many definitions for each term as there are people who need to learn them. Think about the times you felt most rewarded – complimented, paid, thanked, hugged – whichever was the reward that made you feel your best. As you relive that wonderful experience, explore the balance – was part of it from work you did, as in helping someone breathe better? Did you enjoy the teamwork that made that happen – could that be play? How about being willing to give up other attractive options to dedicate yourself to learning – isn’t that love? If you’ve put a lot of energy and focus into being part of the big profession of medicine, consider the spiritual value of that commitment.

Before going to the concert, I watched a video of how Mick Jagger prepares for the show – the workout he puts himself through at 80 years old to look strikingly like the showman I first saw 41 years ago in Dallas. No one does that work without loving it. The look on his face was serious, but the attitude was playful. The dedication is hundred percent.

If you approach each day in clinic with the whole package I saw on stage last week, you’ll impact your patients like Mick did 40,000 of us. The rewards will come, and they will be enough.