new year-new man

I just recently had the chance to watch my favorite movie again for the first time in awhile; PATCH ADAMS. People are often surprised when I tell them it is one of my favorite movies, probably my most favorite. I told the young people I was watching it with, who were astonished by my ability to quote it’s lines, that I watched it everytime I wanted to drop out of graduate school. While it was difficult to explain to them that night why I did that, I have not been able to stop thinking about it since. Patch was not willing to let ANYTHING get in the way of his dream. He attacked his school work with fervor because it was his PASSION. He devoured his text books way before the rest of his class, but learning was just one of his passions. The way I most relate to Patch is that we share a passion, getting to know people intimately and using that information to make a profound difference in their lives. Patch also realized that people (particularly medical professionals) were afraid of this intimate connection because of this; getting close enough to someone to have an impact on their life inevitably also has an impact on your life. He asks what happens if we (doctors) become connected with another person (patients) like this, will we explode? I too burn with a passion to have that connection with others and make a difference. Nothing, including losing the love of his life, and a college dean that was out to get him would stop Patch. Grad school was very difficult for me. There were many times I wanted to give up and quit. My father-in-law and mother died while I was in grad school and I began to have extreme marital problems. I watched this movie at least 50 times. Apparently it is based on a true story. I don’t know which parts were real and which were Hollywood, but he loves helping people so much that he does it free. Sometimes I wish I could do my job for free. My life was once devastated by getting fired from my job for no apparent reason, without explanation. Like Patch, I became depressed, not quite near ending up in a mental institution like he did, but depressed enough to spend about four months in poor-me syndrome, drowning my sorrows in double cheeseburgers and by sleeping all day. Suddenly a window of opportunity came about for me to go back to college and pursue my dream of becoming a therapist. My academic advisor for my first bachelor’s degree told me I would never make it as a counselor. Do you think perhaps she knew I was the kind of person who would stop at nothing to prove her wrong. Although my job is far from perfect, I live for helping people. This past few weeks I even had the opportunity to share my faith in counseling sessions with a few remarkable people who saw my diploma from a Christian college hanging on the wall and it sparked a wonderful time of sharing. Sometimes I wonder how to help people who don’t share my faith in Jesus. What else is there to put our hope and trust in? When my grandparents and mother died I was very, very sad, but at the same time I confidently smiled and thought about a song, “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus”. Well, realizing I got quite off topic here…This is just one reason why I love the movie Patch Adams. I love knowing that I shared my passion for this movie with several young people whom I love and admire. I hope it effected them in some way. Above all things, I hope they get this one thing from it:

Figure out what you are passionate about. Learn everything you will need to know about it and then don’t let ANYTHING or ANYONE stand between you and your dream. With passion, determination and God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!   peace…..