Dooley Noted: 4/26/2014
While in an SGU Med faculty lecture, Dr. Bernard Moxham said the following:
“I believe every thesis should have an antithesis. That way you have synthesis.”
This is exactly how I feel about my time spent away from New York this past week.
If New York is my ongoing thesis, then my twice yearly, 2-week trips to Grenada are the anti-thesis to create true synthesis.
New York is fast and powered by unceasing motivation and looming threats of failure. People flip their lid if a train comes in 15 minutes delayed. Everything is expected in a “New York Minute”
Grenada could not be more slow-paced. A 15-minute bus delay is so common that “island time” prevents any real schedule adherence.
What a fascinating difference exists between the thesis and anti-thesis. But together, they provide perspective that can’t be achieved without the counterpart.
I’m changed when I return from every trip, blessed with a different perspective on my own thesis.
We often seek research, seminars, and discussions that are congruent with our thesis.
What would happen if we actually spent more time listening to our anti-thesis?
This is why I work for medical institutions, although I am a holistic practitioner. I need to understand their theses to truly take a stand on my own.
I hope you can open your mind to new ideas. I hope you can really listen to someone who doesn’t share your opinion, before your opinions become less theses and more about dogma.
I hope you shoot for synthesis, since it’s the only way to create change.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley