In the aftermath of hurricane Irma, this poem by Rainer Maria Rilke somehow seems fitting as we turn to the task of rebuilding. Prayers to all those that have been touched by her path. May the wings of hope hold us up and move us forward with courage, community, and conviction. Sonnets to Orpheus, Part …Read More
Author: Dr. Joel Ying, MD
Physician-Educator-Storyteller. Integrating the power of story into medicine, healing sessions, workshops, speaking and performance.
The Velveteen Rabbit on Being Real
What does it mean to be Real? to be seen? to belong? to connect? to be loved? to be Wholehearted? Here’s an inspiring passage from The Velveteen Rabbit, the 1992 children’s classic by Margery Williams. I recently came across the quote in Brene Brown’s book, Daring Greatly. The Skin Horse tells the Velveteen Rabbit what …Read More
Do what you love
“Do what you love or love what you do.” — Grandma Wisdom Many years ago, a friend gave me this advice from his grandmother, so I call it “Grandma Wisdom.” Prior to this, I had only heard the first part, “Do what you love.” And now I realize why it was incomplete. While sometimes I need …Read More
Millennials: Helping the next generation succeed
Are you a Millennial? Do you interact with the Millennial generation? Watch the Simon Sinek interview below to learn how to this generation can succeed. Millennials, also known as Generation Y or the Net Generation, were born between approximately 1982 to 2004. Every generation faces its own unique challenges. This generation has grown up with the …Read More
Matthew Sanford: Transcending Trauma with Yoga
“Mind-body integration is more than a personal health strategy. It is a movement of consciousness that can change the world.” ― Matthew Sanford At 13 years old, Matthew Sanford was paralyzed from the chest down in an accident that killed his father and his sister. Trauma, he says, happens not just to an individual but to …Read More
Huge success! My first solo performance
“May the legacy of love live on through all of you.” I am deeply grateful to the beautiful audience of 32 friends and “once upon a time” strangers that supported me in my first 90-minute solo performance yesterday (August 25, 2017). Ten years ago, I was a timid voice exploring public speaking through a local …Read More
The four universal healing salves
In many shamanic societies, if you came to a shaman or medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions. When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop finding comfort in the sweet territory of silence? Where we …Read More
Love is not an emotion
“When an emotion is healthy, it arises only when it’s needed, it shifts and changes in response to its environment, and it recedes willingly once it has addressed an issue. When love is healthy, it does none of those things…. Love is not an emotion; it doesn’t behave the way emotions do. Real love is …Read More
David Whyte: The TrueLove
The poet and philosopher, David Whyte, captures the unseen territory in our lives with the inspiring landscapes of his words. “There is a faith in loving fiercely…” The above words open David Whyte’s poem, TRUELOVE. and immediately captivate me because of my own poem, Loving Fiercely. I can’t remember if I had read his poem before …Read More
C. S. Lewis: The Four Loves
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up …Read More