Enter the wild with care, my loveAnd speak the things you seeLet new names take and root and thrive and growAnd even as you travel far from heather, crag and riverMay you like the little fisher, set the stream alight with glitterMay you enter now as otter without falter into water Look to the sky …Read More
Author: Dr. Joel Ying, MD
Physician-Educator-Storyteller. Integrating the power of story into medicine, healing sessions, workshops, speaking and performance.
The Owl and the Pussy-cat
“Sometimes life just needs a little nonsense!” ~ Dr. Joel Ying “The Owl and the Pussy-cat” is a whimsical and humorous nonsense poem by Edward Lear, written in 1867 and first published in 1871 as part of his book Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets. The poem was written for the three-year-old daughter of a …Read More
The Power in Sharing our Stories ~ Kao Kalia Yang
“If Hmong tears could reincarnate, we would rain the world with our sorrow.” Kao Kalia Yang spent her early years listening to the stories of her Hmong family in a Thai refugee camp. At six years old, her family immigrated to the United States. Her family had little to give, but they gave her stories. …Read More
Storytelling Benefits Healthcare Workers
“So how is our friend, Anne, today?” Immediately, my mind struggles with anxiety. I run thought the litany of options, “She’s ok.” “I don’t know.” “I can’t answer that question.” “I’m not sure.” …. I return the friendly smile as I ponder the question, and I say jokingly, “I’m not sure. We’ll have to ask …Read More
Wall of Shame
First, I want to say, it was not my idea. It’s common practice, we all did it. You apply to top schools, a couple in the middle tier, and some safety that you know you can get into. We were all graduating from college. I was applying to medical school along with a few others, …Read More
Coat of Many Colors ~ Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton grew up in a two-room house with her “momma and daddy” and 11 other siblings. In the backcountry of Tennessee, she will tell you that they had running water… they had to “run and get it.” From the poverty of her early life, you will find the riches of her songs that tell …Read More
Where is your Querencia?
“A querencia is a place the bull naturally wants to go to in the ring, a preferred locality… It is a place which develops in the course of the fight where the bull makes his home. It does not usually show at once, but develops in his brain as the fight goes on. In this place he …Read More
Why incompetent people think they’re amazing
“We don’t know what we don’t know.” Beginner’s Mind When I first discovered the art of storytelling performance, I had beginner’s mind. Here was my process: Pick a story that I like. Learn the story. Tell it. I relied on “natural talent.” Vocal variety, facial expressions, and gestures came naturally to me. Other skills had …Read More
Don’t go back to sleep ~ Rumi
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.Don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want.Don’t go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsillwhere the two worlds touch. The door is round and open.Don’t go back to sleep. ~ Rumi I woke up this morning …Read More
Stories are powerful medicine ~ Regi Carpenter
There was once a young woman whose only son died. Her heart was so heavy with grief that she could not go on. She went to Buddha and asked for a magic potion to take away the grief. “Of course,” said the Buddha, “I just need one small thing. You must bring me a mustard …Read More