A Time for Gratitude

November 08, 2021

Below is my monthly message for the November 2021 edition of the MHRI newsletter, Focus. You can view Focus online at MedStarResearch.org/FOCUS.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Once a year we wake up with the gift of an extra hour, a remarkable gift of time. Time is such a precious commodity that even the richest and most powerful cannot buy extra for themselves.

On this day we set our clocks back, I have used this monthly column to reflect about the gift of time. Five years ago, during my [more] nerdy phase, I delved into the science of why perceived time seems to move more quickly as we get older. In The Gift of Time, I explain that there is biologic plausibility of why summer holidays for children seemed to last forever and the wait till Christmas felt like an eternity but as adults, that same time zips by with a whirlwind of activity and blurred calendars. Three years ago, I found myself far more action oriented (no surprise to those that know me!). I wrote about How are we Using Our Time.

This year, I was curious about how people are using that extra hour. A quick google search reveals a host of suggestions – treating family dinner like a party, posting love notes all over your neighborhood, reigniting a book club with friends or getting creative in the kitchen. Are these things ‘to do’ just a way to fill the hour? No, they are suggestions of things that can have a much greater intent and impact. At the heart of each of these activities are ways we can demonstrate who we are. Or more preciously, who we want to be.

So, on this day where we wake up with an extra hour, we are all given the opportunity to think about who we want to be – not just in a professional sense (what we do) but rather in a human sense (how we do it, what is important and how we present ourselves). Vince Lombardi once said, ‘The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.’ It is also the reason that the MedStar Health tagline ‘It’s how we treat people’ rings so true to this concept of what we do and how we do it.

My intent as I write this column is to help others reach their full potential. It is why I have dedicated so much of my life to advancing health, service to others, and mentorship. Today, I will use my extra hour to advocate for our next generation of MedStar Health scientists. The MHRI New Investigator Fund provides seed funding for those that joined MedStar Health within the last 5 years so they can do pilot studies that lead to sustainable external funding as an independent investigator. Past funding awardees have gone on to get NIH grants, become scientific directors and/or become leaders in other areas such as quality and safety. And what is most remarkable is that this program is entirely due to your generous support during the Power to Heal campaign.

Join me in investing in our future of advancing health through research and helping others reach their full potential by donating today. Gratitude matters!

On this glorious fall day, the real beauty of today is a function of what you do with it. I look forward to making a difference together.