HOPE

It's been said that when you look at something, intentional or not, you will walk in that direction. Motivational speakers all say that to make a dream become reality, you must see it in your mind so you can walk in that direction. Before the first man ran a four minute mile it was thought to be impossible, so runners didn't see it in their minds. After the first person ran that four minute mile many more did.

Last week I overheard two older women talking about their health problems. I found myself wondering if their health problems weren't worse because they were spending so much time looking at them that they couldn't help but walk towards their problems. Then I found myself wondering what direction I was looking?

Many of my patients have been to more than ten different doctors and still seek answers. Doctors label my patients with some ill defined malady or none at all, and tell them there is no treatment, no cure, no answer. If a patient improves they are told it is probably placebo, psychosomatic, coincidental, or nothing was wrong with them in the first place; because statistically they shouldn't be getting better. As a doctor, I truly understand how easy it is to walk in the same direction as most people and believe the statistics; that a four minute mile is impossible. It is harder to believe in a reality few people see.

I find myself wondering if it is not answers my patients seek, but hope? Maybe, for some, the only real cure is to believe a four minute mile is possible.