Imperfection

“We look for medicine to be an orderly field
of knowledge and procedure. But it is not.
It is an imperfect science,
an enterprise of constantly changing knowledge,
uncertain information, fallible individuals,
and at the same time lives on the line.
There is science in what we do,
yes, but also habit, intuition,
and sometimes plain old guessing.
The gap between what we know and what we aim for persists.
And this gap complicates everything we do.” 
― Atul Gawande,
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on An Imperfect Science

Sail Away

"Twenty years from now you will be
more disappointed by the things you didn't do
than by the ones you did do.
But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take,
when you reach a destination
that you thought you'd never make."

-Mark Twain 

Chicken

"The key to everything is patience.
You get the chicken by hatching the egg,
not by smashing it."

-Arnold H. Glaskow 

Flux: n. continuous change

"I wanted a perfect ending.
Now I've learned, the hard way,
that some poems don't rhyme,
and some stories don't have a clear
beginning, middle, and end.

Life is about not knowing,
having to change,
taking the moment and making the best of it,
without knowing what's going to happen next.

Delicious Ambiguity."

-Gilda Radner

Floating Blimp

"Gloating is a superficial glowing,
floating is an idle flowing,
bloatedness is the paralysis of blowing up;
because silent movement
results in loud victories."

-Criss Jami

Boston Bombing

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news,
my mother would say to me,
'Look for the helpers.
You will always find people who are helping.'
To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,'
I remember my mother's words,
and I am always comforted by realizing
that there are still so many helpers --
so many caring people in this world."
-Mister Rogers