8 – Understand the value of different disciplines
“Science alone can not cure or help people. Science treats us all as one thing, but diseases are individual. Each person is unique, and diseases are connected with their hearts. To understand diseases and help people, we need liberal and visual arts, not just medicine. ”
9 – Follow your instincts
“Contrary to what you imagine, doctors can not cure everything and everyone. So, why cause unnecessary pain, such as surgery, in certain cases? I believe that music and animal therapy can help people more than doctors imagine. ”
10 – Resist materialism
“Do not go crazy for accumulating material things. Remember: you do not know when it will touch you, and we will not take anything from here. ”
11 – Have models of life and inspirations
“Find someone who inspires you to go further. My dad went to study in the United States in 1900, he was a pioneer and one of my heroes. Later I found other life guides, and when I feel paralyzed, I wonder how they would have dealt with the problem. ”
12 – Do not underestimate the power of fun
“Pain is something mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it. If a child’s teeth hurt and you start playing with it, you will immediately forget the pain. Hospitals need to cover the basic needs of patients: we all want to have fun. At St. Luke’s Hospital (which he directed and where he worked until the last day) we have music, animal therapy and art classes “.
“My inspiration is Robert Browning’s poem Abt Vogler , which my father used to read to me. He encourages us to make great art, not scribbles. It says that we try to draw a circle so big that there is no way to finish it while we live. All we see is an arch, the rest is beyond sight, but it’s there, in the distance. ”
