Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra, the famous catcher for the New York Yankees, was also one of the great theologians of the 20th century.

He quipped:

“If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.”

I love these words of genius, and I am honored to share them with my patients.

We may seek a life free of difficulties, but it simply isn’t possible. We all have challenges; they are built into the fabric of our existence.

For some, these challenges can be excruciating - and by no means do I mean to minimize the experience of those who have gone through torturous pain and loss.

Life is not perfect, yes, Yogi is correct.

Embrace this truth.

It’s how we meet the inevitable imperfections of life that makes the difference.

What Is The Soul...

Q: You talk a lot about the soul. Please help me understand what the soul is (continued from the past 12 weeks). A: Our soul is an actual piece of Divinity. It is pure; it is the essence of who we are. The problem is that all sorts of physical stuff gets on top of it and distracts us. That’s why one of the greatest quotes I’ve ever heard is: “the only thing wrong with me is that I think there is something wrong with me.” (Rabbi YY Jacobson). In other words, my soul is pure goodness. Nothing can change that. At our core, we are spiritual beings living in a physical world; not physical beings living in a spiritual world. When we know who we are, when we are connected to whom we really are, then it will naturally follow that we will live healthier lives, mentally and emotionally.

Deep Cuts

Lisa, I was told, had a long history of self cutting her wrists and her thighs. So as I approached her room on the psych ward, I gingerly opened her door and introduced myself. “Get out”, she yelled. And I complied. The next day I had a female nurse accompany me. And once again, now with more anger, “Get away from me, you asshole.” I complied again. This exchange continued for the next couple days. We did bring her food because she flatly refused to come out of her room. I instructed the staff to let her be. We were not going to get into a battle with Lisa, a young woman who clearly was in pain. The next day, as I opened Lisa’s door, I let go of my usual introduction and instead immediately asked her: “Were you adopted?”, to which she responded: “How did you know?”, quickly followed with “Now get the fuck out”…. ….One day later I was nicely surprised when Lisa spoke with me. She said she was adopted at two months of age, that she had never met her biological parents. She then opened up a bit more, sharing that she has had a series of tumultuous relationships, her eyes now streaming with tears. She asked if she could trust me. Later, I found myself thinking quite a bit about Lisa - about an infant who did not have her mother to hold her, embrace her. About the severe imprint, an imprint of abandonment, that continues to be part of her until this day. So the next morning, having finally made some inroads with Lisa, I was looking forward to continuing our conversation. As I opened her door, she blurted out: “Dr. Asshole, get the hell out of here!”