Sometimes we learn more about ourselves by watching others.

Sunday night I returned from a writing conference put on by the Sun Magazine.

It was at the Rowe Center in western Massachusetts. The executive director had a fluffy white beard and a long braided ponytail. His assistant, our guide for the center, had been living communally since the 1970's. Before each meal, she would lead us in a song, circling around the tables with hands clasped together. 4 authors were present to conduct workshops. About 80 people attended, the 4 author's topics  put us in manageable groups of 15-20.

We wrote.

We shared our writing.

The talent of the group
was amazing. There were published authors, English professors, artists in multiple media and a vet from Maine.

I was hoping we would talk about cats or something I knew anything at all about.

The week before I had attended a veterinary ophthalmology conference. The accommodations were much fancier. At the Sun Conference I stayed in a dorm room with 3 other men on bunk beds.  I had a bottom bunk (score!). At the veterinary conference I stayed at the Caribe Royale and had a suite with 2 plasma screen TV's. What they shared were committed teachers and passionate students. I have to admit that the dinner conversation at the writer's conference was better. We didn't talk about Peyote at the veterinary conference once.

With these two conferences so close together in time, I couldn't help but notice the difference between art and science/technology. The obvious difference to me this week is that science seeks an answer that is correct. It lends itself to multiple choice questions and truth develops in many cases over time as information leads to a deeper understanding of what is going on. For instance in medicine, the treatment of diseases' endpoint is when you can cure the disease. If you have an infection and find the organism that is causing it, you prescribe an appropriate antibiotic and kill the bacteria. Then the immune system takes care of the rest. ..shoot and score.

Writing is much less black and white. There are many ways to write, the slate is entirely black. There isn't a right and wrong, although good writing engages the reader better than bad writing. The recipient (reader) has a lot of power. What is great literature to one person is someone else's bore.

I'm struck by a few things as I return. First, I am totally appreciative to my wife who encouraged me to do both. Secondly, I am a way better vet than I am a writer. The people at this conference were seriously good.

But on the other hand, I've always loved the steep part of the learning curve. Plus, I have an awesome audience that grows with me (that would be you). In the early part of learning as an adult, its easy to get defensive. You guys have been nothing but supportive.  The people at the writing conference were across the board very supportive as well.   As a result, the writing students shared a lot of their inner thoughts.

So as I watched those writers share their truths, I found out more about my own voice. By listening to the experiences of specialists in ophthalmology, I learned from mistakes I didn't even make. I think that being 47 I've realized that you can learn as well from others as you can from yourself...sometimes without the heartache. Most of us didn't know that at 22, because we had to disregard the experience of others to focus on our own. 

Passion and inspiration are somewhat intermingled for me.  It is easy to be inspired by someone with great passion. If you worry that you don't have enough passion in life, surround yourself with people who do...believe me, it'll rub off.  I said that the mark of being interested in a subject/topic/hobby is that you can do it for an hour and it will feel like 10 minutes.  I'd really like to choose what I'm interested in, but I guess my soul does that.

For now, I am grateful for the passion that was ignited by the last few weeks of sharpening the saw. I'd like to say it will lead to some sort of major insight, but perhaps for now it will lead to really creative ophthalmology notes in your pet's record.

A note from yesterday...

"Buffy has deep azure eyes that twinkle when her master arrives. The cornea is as clear as a wafer- thin glistening ice sculpture. Her pupil, black as night, constricts indecisively as though it denies its purpose...to protect the vulnerable retina.

The other eye looks pretty much the same"

I'm still working on the editing process, but appreciate your patience with me. I'm expecting a call from Dr. Meiczinger or Pooler saying...."Mark, I was just reading your notes on Buffy and ahhh...."