Update on Floating Doctors

July 1, 2010

Once again I find I’m talking about myself way too much, I’m such a narcissist! I’ve been catching up on the Floating Doctors Blog and crying my eyes out all morning.

First, after about two months in Haiti, they have set sail for Honduras!

What Ben and the crew are doing moves me beyond words. They are inspiring to me and I want to be like them when I grow up . So many of us (and trust me I include myself in these statements) get wrapped up in all the noise and little dramas of modern life. Money, clothes, toys, stuff, image, other people’s thoughts about us, road rage, etc. Here is this group of people who have given up all that, plus the conveniences that come with it: tv, internet, Trader Joe’s, etc. They’ve given it up to live on a boat, sail the world, not sleep much, perform lots of manual labor all while helping to heal people who would otherwise probably not see a doctor or dentist. They treat people who have been sick for a long time, because there is no doctor to see, no CVS they can walk to.

Ben lives by the belief in human kindness and mutual respect. How many of us can say that? How many of us go about our day and try to treat everyone we encounter with kindness and respect? No petty gossip, or complaining? I know I don’t. I can think of a rant just yesterday about a co-worker I find frustrating to deal with. How much better would life be if we all tried to be a little kinder and more respectful of each other?

It’s so easy when we focus on our copious to do lists to forget that the person we’re complaining about is human and has just as many feelings and emotions as us. That the guys who cut us off on the road and we flipped off, is just as stressed and focused on his own problems as we are. We think of our problems as the end of the world sometimes, but they aren’t. I think those of us in the US, or developed Westernized countries in general forget how good we really have it. No our lives aren’t perfect and we all have problems, and that will never change. But our lives are never as bad as we think, and I believe if we tried to treat each other better on a daily basis we would all be happier.

So the long and the short of this is: Dr Ben and the crew are my inspiration in life right now, and I would absolutely love to be on the boat with them right this minute. Since I cannot I am trying to take charge of my own life and health while trying to assist them in their mission. Tomorrow I will finish the 400 miles! This weekend I will go find shoes that I can stand to wear to run in and find a 5k that I will run. but today, I will try to not gossip or bitch about anyone and I will try to remember that everyone is human and has feelings and I will try be kind, respectful and loving to everyone I meet. I hope you will as well.

Please take some time to visit Ben’s blog: http://floatingdoctors.com/

Here are my two favorites of his recent posts:
Man is a Measure of All Things
Happiness is a Deliberate Choice