Doctor Paul

They never got over Dr. Paul. He was dynamic, inspiring, and heart-centered. Throw in daring. He was daring too. I met Dr. Paul on my first post teenage job, but I didn’t meet him directly, only by reputation.

The story unfolded on a Women’s Admission in a psychiatric hospital where I worked. Years had gone by since Dr. Paul left, but the staff was still talking about him as if he would walk around the corner any minute. I felt his presence.

He did innovative things.

The story was that Dr. Paul would send some of the newly admitted patients to the Geriatric Building to feed the patients. This was part of their treatment. Some of the turn arounds were quite dramatic. He believed that depression needs, in some cases, to be antidoted by getting the attention off self. He also believed in people being of service to others. The newly admitted made friends and looked forward to seeing the geriatric patients.

So here’s a question, when you leave a job, will they talk about you with regret, like Dr. Paul, or relief that you have gone?

“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try and cheer somebody else up”.

Mark Twain