The Curse Of Being - Oh So Terribly - Practical

I'm considering becoming a "slimy" diplomat, the kind who's actually too professional, who takes a pill to stop caring. I'm terribly practical. If people vent, I try to help find a solution. That's not a wise thing if one wants to lead a nice, quiet life.

Lately I've spent some time in hospital, due to required practice in med school. There you meet a lot of people who could have much better lives, if they had had all the information needed at their fingertips. I get so angry. Not at the patients, but at the thought of them not getting the information they should have had. You see the smokers, the old guys who were the seamen and workers Norway was so proud of, suffering from illness. They're victims of misinformation. When they were young, smoking was a nice, social thing.

So I get angry, and I think of one of the characteristics of an excellent teacher: she gives information freely, whatever the pupil needs in his or her situation. And I vow not to hold back information, if I have it and think it may help.

But, I'm practical, and people don't want practical, a lot just want to vent. It's obviously not good form to give out facts, even if they seem asked for. I must remember that information is not necessarily everybody's favorite thing, even if it is mine, and you don't hear anything until your inner timing is right.

Now I'm venting, so I guess I have to stop writing. Sleep well and try to avoid the bedbugs.

(ETSY shop)