Enough…

Since i have quit my job as an emergency physician last week, i am taking the time to look back at these years of hard work and committment.

I realize that i may have lived in a bubble, a kind of closed world where everything happens at dizzying speed.

I have thrived in this environment for almost  two decades.

I loved the adrenaline that comes with the job.

Being an emergency doc was thrilling and it came with a fast paced action filled life that seemed to fit the job.

But… there is always a flip side to a coin, a consequence to everything we do.

I am spending the early morning sipping a coffee and reading a book. The fireplace begs for me to warm it up. The girls are asleep upstairs. Liam is quietly playing beside me. Edith is reading.

I am looking at snow flakes falling. The windows of this house that stood the test of time  are inviting me to look not just outdoor but outside of this life. This place is perfect for our winter vacation. Time wants to slow down and this place is giving me a break to think about what i will do next. My professional life is like an open book with blank pages. I like this feeling of freedom. I enjoy this opportunity to start over and ask important questions: What do i really want to do? What do i love? What gives meaning to my life?

As i am looking at the walls of this very old house, probably one of the oldest in Canada, built in 1630, i am forced to think about  the life of those that lived before me.  There is a deep feeling that is born from a place so old. If this house could talk, it would tell stories of the life lived before our time, before the internet, before cars and electricity.  I feel a growing recognition that a good life can be lived simply, without much. The warmth of people gathering around a fireplace is more than enought to give life meaning. The calmness of a winter morning spent reading is more than enough to make me happy.

This morning, i realize that I  yearn to live a simpler more meaningful life.

There is so much of life that can’t be bought at the car dealership,  Amazon or Costco.

Live more, work less and spend more time with those i love.

This is really what i want.

Original post Facebook, March 2018