Make time to tend your garden
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-blog/MY01422
- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
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Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Edward Creagan, M.D.
"The magic of the electronic village is transforming health information. The mouse and keyboard have extended the stethoscope to the 500 million people now online." — Dr. Edward Creagan
The power of the medium inspires Dr. Edward Creagan as he searches for ways to share Mayo Clinic's vast resources with the general public.
Dr. Creagan, a Newark, N.J., native, is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hospice medicine and palliative care. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1973 and in 1999 was president of the staff of Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Creagan, a professor of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, was honored in 1995 with the John and Roma Rouse Professor of Humanism in Medicine Award and in 1992 with the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award, Mayo's highest recognition. He has been recognized with the American Cancer Society Professorship of Clinical Oncology.
He describes his areas of special interest as "wellness as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-financial model" and fitness, mind-body connection, aging and burnout.
Dr. Creagan has been an associate medical editor with Mayo Clinic's health information websites and has edited publications and CD-ROMs and reviewed articles.
"We the team of (the website) provide reliable, easy-to-understand health and wellness information so that each of us can have productive, meaningful lives," he says.
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Stress blog
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Sept. 2, 2010
Make time to tend your garden
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
"My basil was looking puny." This was the opening sentence from a beloved leader in our community when I ran into her at the farmers market. We've been acquaintances for years, and it was wonderful to reconnect with her. I was rather puzzled by her comment, but I simply kept quiet and listened.
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My colleague was in the midst of some important and high-level negotiations with tremendous economic and political significance for our organization. She facetiously commented that she was working 42 hours a day. Failure was not an option, and she was clearly under enormous personal and professional pressures.
So what did the basil plant have to do with any of this? As an avid cook, my friend prides herself on her gardening and kitchen skills. Because she was too busy to care for her garden, her herbs withered and died. As a result, her recipes were not quite up to par, and she felt very frustrated.
This casual meeting with an old friend at a Saturday morning market reminded me of the importance of taking care of yourself by:
- Nurturing what renews your spirit. If you don't cultivate these gifts, they will wither and die.
- Not losing sight of your own needs. You cannot give what you do not have. Everyone needs time to regenerate.
- Knowing where to draw the line. If you aren't careful, your vocation can devour your life.
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