Passover and Easter sharing the same week brought wishes of joy and smiles to so many people. As part of the powerful week, I got a special message from Investors Bank called “Morning Juice.” It’s a daily feast of inspiring words, and in this holiday season I want to share one with you:
THE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE (author unknown):
A philosophy professor brought to his class an empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks. He then asked his students if the jar was full. They said “yes.” The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook it and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full and they said “yes.” The professor then added sand to the jar. And of course it filled all the open areas of the jar.
The professor then said, “This jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children, things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”
He then went on to offer more insight. “The pebbles are the other things that matter – your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else – the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”
“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness,” he added. “Play with your children, take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party or fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
How wise!
A Unique Visit
My dearest friend Claire Shulman had asked me to set up a meeting with the new CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, the St. Albans-born, 46-year-old Christopher Roker. He was recently one of our Kings of Queens and he is earning that title every day as he energetically works toward his goal of making his hospital the Ritz Carlton of the HHC.
While Claire was borough president, she put shovels in the ground at her beloved hospital to ensure that the community would get the modern institution it is today. The new hospital was completed under her watch in June 2001.
She has history in the walls of the hospital because she started her career there as a nurse assigned to the most difficult patients, even as a novice, because the war was on. This was in the l940s,when there was an acute shortage of nurses and equipment. And she met her psychiatrist husband of 67 years at Queens Hospital where he was working.
“I had to be creative and manage the department with so few resources but I set my mind that we would make it work and save the lives of the people in my care – and we did,” she candidly recalled. “In fact, I often wondered where did I get my ability to run the office of the borough president and I’m convinced it was from what I learned as a nurse managing the floor I was assigned to. I never accepted ‘but it cannot be done.’ It just wasn’t in my vocabulary!” she shared.
Chris told us, with great pride in his voice, about achieving a top rating from the Joint Commission, which recognized Queens Hospital’s success in the diabetes, cardiac, women’s health and cancer center divisions.
Understanding the needs of the community, CEO Roker told us a new parking concierge service will open shortly and a major expansion of the hospital’s pharmacy and emergency medicine departments is on the way.
It was obvious that Claire had much to smile about, and feels both pride and appreciation for what is happening under the leadership of Chris Roker.
Queens can feel safer and healthier with the dynamic leadership at QH, bringing more quality services to the communities it serves.
