#12 Healing Power 🩹
When anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked about what she considered to be the first evidence of civilization, she gave an unexpected and compelling answer.
Mead reflected for a moment and said, "a healed femur" found in a 15,000- year-old archaeological site.
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Why a healed femur and not hunting tools or religious artifacts?
The femur is the largest bone of the body. Without modern medicine, it takes months to heal.
In the animal world, where it's all about the "survival of the fittest," a broken femur is equivalent to death. There is no way to escape from predators or look for food.
It's over.
Mead pointed out that a healed femur is evidence that someone showed compassion. It means that others took care of the injured and provided food, shelter and protection throughout a long recovery.
They placed their self-interest aside to elevate the common good.
"Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts,” Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can't change the world; for, indeed, that's all who ever have."
The Takeaway
Compassion > competition.
Since the beginning, these two forces have proppeled us forward. It's now evident that we have focused too much effort on competition, highlighting wealth and power as measures of success.
While competition produces many positive things, it has also led to a society that is more individualistic and lonely.
Compassion is a driving force for innovation that is just as powerful as competition. As we ponder on strategy and "what's next", we have the opportunity to rethink and rebuild from a perspective of collaboration.
Reach out.
What is this moment asking of you?
What is the one thing you can do to spark collaboration and show compassion?
Think of your family, friends and coworkers. It can be something as simple as sharing a meal through a videochat with someone you know is alone.
People need you more than you know.
Let me know what you think. Hit reply.
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You can find previous Takeaways here.
I hope you and your family are well. Take care!
María Albert
Sources:
Ira Byock tells this story in his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life (Avery, 2012).