Why we do way more than just healing

we benefit most when we practice having a new experience we perceive as being positive, rewarding, or meaningful—one that engages our sense of curiosity and wonder. This can be an experience of receiving comfort or support, or feeling compassion or gratitude—ultimately anything that allows us to feel strength or peace inside.

helplessness. I was also struck by how little attention was paid to their accomplishments and aspirations; whom they cared for, loved, or hated; what motivated and engaged them, what kept them stuck, and what made them feel at peace—the ecology of their lives.

In the past few decades, many patients and physicians have come to the conclusion that evidence-based treatments by specialists (and sub- and sub-subspecialists) don’t necessarily supply what people need to heal. Physicians and nurses now routinely team up with mental-health professionals, alternative practitioners, social workers, and chaplains to

A child has been helped and healed. And a man takes off his surgical mask and exhales a prayer of thanks that he could participate in God’s restoration, that his work can be part of God’s own work. My friend works as one who prays, and prays as one who works.