transcendentdesiretoseeandhelpotherbeingsachieve
their potential.
Asourtimewindsdown,weallseekcomfortinsimple
pleasures—companionship, everyday routines, thetaste
ofgoodfood,thewarmthofsunlightonourfaces.We
becomeless interestedin therewardsofachievingand
accumulating, and more interested in the rewards of
simplybeing.Yetwhilewemayfeellessambitious,we
alsobecome concernedforour legacy.Andwehavea
deep need to identify purposes outside ourselves that
make living feel meaningful and worthwhile.
Withthe animalsand children and plantsBillThomas
helped usher into Chase Memorial Nursing Home, a
programhe calledtheEdenAlternative,he provideda
smallopeningforresidentstoexpressloyalty—alimited
but realopportunity forthem to grab onto something
beyond mere existence. And they took it hungrily.
“Ifyou’reayoungdoc,andyoubringalltheseanimals
andchildrenandplantsintoasterileinstitutionalnursing
homecirca1992,youbasicallyseemagichappeninfront
ofyoureyes,”Thomastoldme.“Youseepeoplecome
alive.Youseethembegintointeractwiththeworld,you
seethembegintoloveandtocareandtolaugh.Itblows
your mind.”
The problemwith medicine and theinstitutions ithas
spawnedforthecareofthesickandtheoldisnotthat
they have had an incorrect view of what makes life
significant.Theproblemisthattheyhavehadalmostno
view at all. Medicine’s focus is narrow. Medical
professionals concentrate on repair of health, not