A start...

There are two competing visions for the world: "one where we are a collection of tribes and we are inevitably at war and it's a zero-sum game," and another that says "for all our differences, there is a common humanity and it is possible for us in a multiracial, multiethnic, highly diverse country and world, it is possible for us to see each other, understand each other, respect each other and work together." Barack Obama (11/20 NPR interviews )

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I didn't know how to start this blog. It actually started as a book. I sometimes feel like I have a lot to say, but I don't really know if anyone wants to hear about it. So I am starting here, with a blog, to see.

I will start each blog with a quote, and then some reflection about it, a reference for further reading and suggested music to accompany my reflections. Please feel free to reply with your own musical ideas and recommended reads. Actually,  I WOULD LOVE THAT!

Today's post is really the preface to the book I hope to write someday:

This started out to be a book about health and fitness, but personal health and fitness cannot exist in a vacuum. Good physical health requires good mental health. It requires the ability to make personal decisions as part of a stable place in a community, with meaningful education and access regarding food and activity choices. It also requires a “healthy” environment;  from local ecosystem to global health, a society free from violence and persecution for our personal beliefs and expressions of who we are. 

So this blog has evolved to become a broader reflection on life. Just as healthcare cannot exist in a vacuum but must address the “social determinants of health”, developing healthy habits and lifestyle cannot happen without a look at some broader issues. 

But first, why should you listen to what I have to say? I do not claim to know it all and everything I “know” is from my unique point of view. Let me clarify: facts are facts, and there are moral absolutes-(it is always wrong to use your power to hurt another- physically or emotionally), but people have different thresholds of risk, different experiences that have shaped them for good or ill, and different levels of tolerance for ambivalence. This colors both how we interpret and apply facts and also how well we are able to accept a point of view that differs from our own. (theory of mind).  If your life is built on a premise that certain actions are always wrong, then it will be hard for you to accept people who do not believe that. Each of us is muddling through this life, carrying beliefs, biases and other baggage. But I believe, it shouldn’t be me against you or us against them. We are all them. We are all us. Be kind. Understand we are all trying. 

I write about life from the point of view of a person who identifies as a female (she/her), who is a Pediatrician in the United States, who is a wife and mother with a certain style of parenting (authoritative) and of being, (gender non conforming in some areas- like housework:)). I am athletic but in a recreational, middle of the pack kind of way. I write not to tell you how to think or who to be, but to see where we agree and where we diverge. I write to help you think deeply about what you stand for and why, and to start a conversation. We all need to live together on this planet and we can either be angry and isolated or we can try to understand and learn to live together. I think compassion is the key and that fear and isolation are the great barriers to unity and happiness. I believe that the process of developing empathy is the work of life and is cultivated by avoiding labels, withholding judgement and instead listening and seeking connections with other individuals. I hope my words can advance this cause. So I write, and I hope you will listen and think and take action. Start a conversation with your partner, your kids, your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends; with me.

Post script:  In the course of my life, I have tried to listen to a great number of people, and I have read, a great deal.  I read non fiction for facts, insight and opinion, fiction to develop empathy and to explore truth and wisdom that can only be expressed through art. My synthesis of the works I have read and the things I have learned are reflected in my words. I know that my understanding of these readings may be imperfect, as are the studies themselves. This is what life is, this is what science is, a quest for knowledge to advance the mark, knowing we will never reach the goal.

1." A Promised Land" by Barack Obama 2020 (full disclosure, I haven't read this book yet, but I can't wait to and the interview I quote is wonderful).

Musical Selections: (Public on spotify: search smknerr, playlist Wordknerrd blog #1)

Bruce Springsteen: Badland, Meeting Across the River, State Trooper, The Promised Land, Meet me in the City, Maria's Bed, American Skin, Reason to Believe, Shackled and Drawn, Rainmaker, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Atlantic City, We are Alive, Land of Hope and Dreams. Little Steven: Among the Believers, Fear, and Simon & Garfunkle: America.