Dr. Sacks & Thankfulness
Oliver Sacks died from ocular cancer on August 30, 2015, at the age of 82. But way back when he was in his 40s, he had an accident while he was hiking alone in which he thought he was going to die.
He had broken his leg and was attempting to climb down a mountain. This is how he described his state of mind:
“I splinted the leg as best I could and started to lever myself down the mountain, clumsily, with my arms. In the long hours that followed, I was assailed by memories, both good and bad. Most were in the mode of gratitude — gratitude for what I had been given by others, gratitude that I had been able to give something back.”
Later in life, as he approached what would ultimately be his death, he wrote:
“I cannot pretend that I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
For those who don’t know, Oliver Sacks was a fairly famous neurologist. He wrote a number of books and case studies of his patients over the years.
One of them, Awakenings, was made into a movie starring Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro. However, the work of his I’d like to talk about today is a short one, written at the very end of his life titled Gratitude.
Gratitude is a collection of 4 essays that Dr. Sack wrote for The New York Times during the final two years of his life. In them, he reflects on his life.
He talks about books he wrote, people he has known, his love for the periodic table, and something of what it was like to grow up as an Orthodox Jewish kid.
The essays all have a nostalgic feeling to them. You can feel that he is reflecting back upon a life that he feels has been well lived and that he can sense is rapidly coming to a close.
The most striking aspect of these essays is his sense of gratitude. The two quotes above capture that sense. He is relating two different times when he has faced death and in both circumstances, he has felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
In each of the essays, there is a sense that he is thankful, not only for what he has been given but also for what he has been able to give to others. His contributions to the world of neurology, writing, and the arts were significant.
Dr. Sacks knew that in the same way, he knew he had been given a great deal that had allowed him to achieve these things. Gratitude is a short book, only 45 pages, but it is well worth the time you will spend reading it.
As a Christian, I am called to give thanks throughout the Bible. God desires for me to be grateful, to thank him, and to be thankful for the grace & kindness of others. To the best of my knowledge, Dr. Sacks was not a man of active faith.
In Gratitude, he does mention growing up in an Orthodox Jewish home but appears to have left faith in God behind at some point. However, he was significantly more grateful than many of the Christians I know.
He faced death at least twice and his response was to give thanks!! That is, quite frankly, astonishing. I’m not certain I could face death and be as grateful as he describes being.
His life was one that he lived to its fullest. It was one in which he actively pursued his goals. And, ultimately, it was a life for which he was grateful. The rest of us have something to learn from Dr. Sacks.
For me, Dr. Sacks’ essays, gave me a deeper sense of what I have to be grateful for and the aspects of my life that I can focus on that will bring me deeper satisfaction.
Hopefully, I can move into the mode of Dr. Sacks and be able to face the circumstances of my life with overwhelming gratitude, even in the face of overwhelming challenges.
Originally published at https://www.graceanddepravity.com.
