Early this morning I put on running shorts, a shirt, and shoes. As I opened the front door of my apartment building to go out for a run, the heat and humidity slapped me. I left Malawi a week ago. There it is winter with high temperatures around 75°F (21°C). The 36 hour trip back to the USA brought me home to Washington DC, uncomfortably hot and humid in summer.
Exiting my apartment building I ran 2 blocks to the Potomac River and turned north. My typical run is along the river to National airport where I make a 90 degree turn west and follow an inland waterway. The perpendicular path is quiet with abundant wildflowers and excellent birdlife (“Preying”). Three miles out I turn around and head home.
This morning, at the turnaround point, I felt like I would melt into the running path. Though I rarely do so, I took of my shirt and started home. The minimal breeze was at my back, making the heat and humidity even worse. I wanted to quit but pressed on, looking forward to returning to a large glass of cold water and the cool of the air conditioning.
After a few minutes, I returned to the Potomac. I rounded a bend and ran over a bridge. A lean runner, about 30 years younger than me, entered the bridge on the opposite end, headed in the opposite direction. As he passed me, running slowly, his face lit up and he said, pleasantly, “You’re an inspiration!”
I thought about his words on the two-mile trip home. I still am unsure what he meant. Was it “Wow, it is hot outside. How inspiring that you are still running!”? I want him to have meant that “For someone 58 years old, you don’t look too bad. You can still be old and run without a shirt. Hopefully I can keep exercising and stay fit when I’m your age.” His meaning will always be a mystery to me.
I realize I do not sufficiently thank the people in my life who have previously and currently inspire me.
Though this anonymous runner’s words made me momentarily happy, I don’t feel like a very inspiring person. I live my life, both personally and professionally, so that if I die today, I will have no regrets. Of course, we all have thing in our past life we regret. We replay these things in our minds, wishing we had done things differently. In my life, these regrets are minor. I do not regret living my life the way I currently live it. I try to be kind, thoughtful, and altruistic. Though not regretful, I do not often feel very inspiring.
Thinking further, though, perhaps I am wrong. Maybe my mind focuses on the few things I regret in my past, and doesn’t allow me to focus as much on the good. It always surprises me when people tell me how I inspire them. I frequently interact with medical students and residents. Sometimes our interactions will be brief (in my memory) but years later I will run into them and they will tell me how I served as a role model. A few months ago, I presented a lecture at Children’s National Hospital about my completed research in cerebral malaria. Attendance was good but like most things virtual, feedback from the audience was poor. There was no applause. The presentation ended with my clicking a big red Leave Now button. Three weeks afterward I was in the hospital when a physician I did not know came up to me. He told me that my Grand Rounds presentation was the best he had ever heard. He was new to research but hoped to be able to follow in my path in a few years. This, of course, made me feel terrific.
I realize I do not sufficiently thank the people in my life who have previously and currently inspire me. My boss at the Blantyre Malaria Project, Terrie Taylor, is the first person who comes to mind. She has lived in Malawi for 6 months per year for the last 30 years, trying to better understand and treat pediatric cerebral malaria. She is intelligent, friendly, respectful and welcoming to everyone she encounters. She has always been patient with me, even when I am driving her crazy. Have I ever told her she is an inspiration? Nope.
Let us all promise ourselves something. Moving forward, if someone serves as a role model, let them know they are an inspiration. Tell friends, family, co-workers, and the people you encounter on the running path, that they are an inspiration to you. The dictionary states that when someone is personally inspiring they “motivate others mentally or emotionally.” Each of us, every day, encounters people who live their lives and treat others in ways that deserves imitation. And imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Tell them how much they mean to you.
