Book 167 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: The Power of Purpose!

Book – Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

Book Description: In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Tracy Kidder’s magnificent account shows how one person can make a difference in solving global health problems through a clear-eyed understanding of the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems, and disease. Profound and powerful, Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes people’s minds through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.”

Reflection:

Paul Farmer has a purpose, to help the poor and helpless in this world to have access to healthcare that most of us in the developed world take for granted as commonplace. To him, every patient matters. He wants to make a tiny dent to ease the suffering and needless deaths that are occurring every day that we all know we have the power to stop if only someone cared. Paul cares, sometimes too much. Every single thing that he does from the moment he wakes up until his head hits the bed at night is dedicated to this purpose. He goes to extreme lengths, sacrifices his own creature comforts, puts himself in harm’s way, and does things that don’t seemingly make sense from an outsider’s perspective all dedicated to this purpose.

Every action that Paul does is in service to his purpose. When compounded over a lifetime, the fruits of his efforts began to slowly add up into something an outsider can start to visualize, get on board with, and the purpose and mission can finally start to make sense. When that happens…watch out. That is when people like Tracy Kidder decide that they want to follow you around the world and write a book about your life because of all the seemingly amazon things that blossoming from the seeds you’ve planted.

When you hear stories of people like Paul Farmer, I can’t help but to think about the power that purpose, real purpose, can play in shaping the decisions we make in our lives. Purpose drives action! It is truly remarkable how easy it makes decisions in life once you know what you were put on this Earth to do. When purpose takes control of the wheel, there isn’t even a decision to be made between action and inaction.

As Paul said, “That’s when I feel most alive…when I’m helping people”. That is the power of real purpose, it makes you feel alive! It is addictive and you want to fill as much of your day with activities that feed that purpose.

I know it because I feel it myself these days! I feel it in my soul. It is all I can think about. It is what I imagine and dream about. It is what I wake up excited to do. It is what gives and sustains my energy throughout the day. It is what I think about when I go to bed.

I don’t know where Paul’s purpose originated from or how it came to take hold of him, but I certainly know where mine came from…Emilia. If I had my way, I’d spend every waking moment of my life trying to Live for 2 with Emilia and for Emilia. I’m not there yet, but it is growing day by day.

While I try to always end these reflections on a high note, I would be remiss if I didn’t make a note on the darker side of purpose. I’ve written about this before, but for me, purpose is a double-edged sword. While it might sound great to know exactly what you must do in this world, sometimes it feels like a bit of a curse. I don’t have a choice but to not act. Every time I even consider inaction, I think of Emilia, and I must act. That mental image of her suffering and strength is something that will never leave my mind. I don’t want it, but I have it nonetheless and it is up to me to do something about it. Paul mentioned something similar that keeps him going as well. He has mental images in his mind of all the patients he’s come across throughout the years. That is what keeps him going whenever it seems to be too hard, not scalable, or sustainable.

Purpose is incredibly powerful, but it also comes at an immense cost. I will be spending the rest of my life paying back this debt of not having my daughter with me.

Question: What are you doing do you feel most alive in this world?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder