Sterling Terrell

smart ideas from books (mostly)

  • Home
  • About
    • My CV
    • Books
    • Series
  • Newsletter
  • Advertising
  • Tools
You are here: Home / Potpourri / It Can Bring You To Tears

It Can Bring You To Tears

It Can Bring You To Tears

Empathy is a beautiful thing, yeah.

But it can bring you to tears.

And I guess that is kind of the point.

Good-grief, I find it amazing how we function on a daily basis – knowing that eternity stares back at us.

But my girlfriend, Lucy, whom I met in the first year of medical school (and who would later become my wife), understood the subtext of the academics. Her capacity to love was barely finite, and a lesson to me. One night on the sofa in my apartment, while studying the reams of wavy lines that make up EKGs, she puzzled over, then correctly identified, a fatal arrhythmia. All at once, it dawned on her and she began to cry: wherever this “practice EKG” had come from, the patient had not survived. The squiggly lines on that page were more than just lines; they were ventricular fibrillation deteriorating to asystole, and they could bring you to tears.

-Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air (Amazon)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: PotpourriTagged With: #Death, #Empathy

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Privacy Policy

Connect

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Free Weekly Newsletter:

Search

Top Posts

  • The Tricky Lily Pad Riddle (You Probably Can't Solve)
    The Tricky Lily Pad Riddle (You Probably Can't Solve)
  • Hyatt Hill Country Sunday House
    Hyatt Hill Country Sunday House
  • Few Days And Full Of Trouble
    Few Days And Full Of Trouble
  • Ship More Projects
    Ship More Projects
  • Instabooks 251
    Instabooks 251
  • Economics 101: Rosy Scenario Policy
    Economics 101: Rosy Scenario Policy
  • The Tragedy Of Gina "Bronco" Bouza (1932-1957)
    The Tragedy Of Gina "Bronco" Bouza (1932-1957)
  • Your Daughter's Intimacy Imperative
    Your Daughter's Intimacy Imperative
  • Peaches, The Presidents Of The United States of America
    Peaches, The Presidents Of The United States of America
  • This Is How To Draw A Simple Helicopter
    This Is How To Draw A Simple Helicopter

Supporting = Loving

Recent Posts

  • Ship More Projects
  • Few Days And Full Of Trouble
  • Father’s Days Days Are Swim Days Swim
  • Random Thoughts – 344
  • Creative Forces Converged
  • When Laughing Is More Contagious
  • LubbockJobs.io
  • Instabooks 363
  • Random Thoughts – 343
  • From This Sun And A Cold Drink
  • The Psychology When Midlife Crisis Hits
  • Smoke Eaters
  • For The Elite See It And
  • Random Thoughts – 342
  • Austin Kleon, A Note To Graduates
  • Example Of Writing Material
  • The Rule Of I Before E
  • He Silently Sits And Sleeps
  • Random Thoughts – 341
  • Martin Mull
  • Early Retirement In One Lesson
  • On Being Consistently Good
  • And The Last Heart Will Weep When
  • Random Thoughts – 340
  • Fundamentally A Loner

Copyright © 2022 · Generate Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in