Foundations - The Healing Arts

According to an old story, a lord of ancient China once asked his physician, a member of a family of healers, which of them was the most skilled in the art. The physician, whose reputation was such that his name became synonymous with medical science in China, replied, "My eldest brother sees the the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house. My elder brother cures illness when it is still extremely minute, so his name does not get out of the neighborhood. As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time my name gets out and is heard among the lords.

I remember I was 15 when I heard this for the first time - yes, heard. I have an audiobook of The Art of War, translated and with an introduction by Thomas Cleary. For me it was the first illustration of what doctoring was all about. That importance was not directly related to prominence. That the success of a physician is not truly measured by the quantity of their service, nor even the demand for their service, but by the wellness of their patients (and in a broader sense, the wellness of their community). This nugget began cultivating in me a mind set of quality over quantity and of medicine as an art more than a procedure.