Dear Friends,
Life for me has slowed down. I cannot remember the last time life felt like it slowed for me - as long as I can remember, I've always preferred to live my life at a faster pace. But somehow, here I am in my final year of medical school and I'm waiting to be directed to my next geographic location (we get assigned to a hospital somewhere in America at the end of March!). And, as is the case whenever you sit around and wait for a momentous event, Waiting has made time feel like it is somehow moving more slowly.
Which means that Waiting has begun to feel a lot like this.
To help pass the time and fill the space around me, I've started to pack my phone full of Podcasts with the voices of people I find comforting and whose company I think I would greatly enjoy. Carrying them with me wherever I go - to the grocery store, to the gym, to walk the neighbor's dog (whose paws slide whenever she walks on ice, which means she is gliding more often than walking and it's utterly adorable to watch) - I've begun to forget to watch the pot as it boils.
First case in point: Tina Fey's autobiography Bossypants, narrated by none other than Tina Fey herself. I'd be betraying my affection for Tina if I said I adored her. The truth is, I idolize her - secretly, I think she and I are cut from the same cloth. I've been listening to her narrate her book on tape so frequently that I now hear my own thoughts in Tina's voice, which is a pretty phenomenal experience. As my first virtual gift to each of you, I have to share this one excerpt: "That's Don Fey." In this 3-minute chapter, Tina describes her father and it leaves me doubling over with laughter. I hope you soak up the experience.
Next case in point: About a month ago I found myself listening to back-dated episodes of Terry Gross's show on NPR Fresh Air, where she interviews people who have accomplished great things, mostly actors. Terry Gross's voice alone is reason to listen to her show. Her voice is a soothing monotone that has the same effect as the best back massage. I immediately relax when I hear it. In one episode she interviews Robin Williams, one of my all-time favorite actor/comedian combinations. The episode aired after he had already committed suicide, and the honesty and humor he brings to the episode paralyzed me. It seems fitting for our February, a time when we know Laughter and Sorrow to overlap so they are indistinguishable.
Over the course of the interview, Williams talks about how he discovered stand-up comedy, he describes his experiences performing for troops in Afghanistan, and to hear him share his thoughts and ideas drew me out of myself and my Waiting game. Listening to the podcast, I felt as though the world I know through my small slice of the human experience was somehow broadened. I hope you'll listen and enjoy: Robin Williams: In Looking For Laughs, 'You Have To Be Deeply Honest' (For those who cannot listen to the full half hour, I recommend fast-forwarding to somewhere in the middle, and simply listening for 10 minutes.)
And to those of you who do listen, I hope you will feel compelled to call me and share your favorite quote or line, and then perhaps the next voice that helps me through the Waiting game will be yours...
With endless love,
Sarah
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