A Kind Reminder

A Kind Reminder poem - Jenny Hegland - The Good Listening Project 1.jpg

“There’s a constant feeling inside that I should be doing more,” she said.

“But I also want to be kind to myself and recognize all that I’ve given.”

This person was a physician. She had been reflecting on how she could best use her time and skills without burning herself out.

She told me she was trying not to let the guilt take over, because there was a constant need for volunteers to oversee vaccine clinics and provide education in the community, and these were things she cared deeply about.

She wanted the poem to be a reminder that she didn’t need to do everything right now, and that it was ok to slow down and replenish herself. “For the long-term, it’s important I care for myself and be kind to myself, too, so I’ll be able to do the same for others,” she said.

Listener Poet Jenny Hegland

Association of American Medical Colleges

March 2021

There's no shortage

of the kind of kind

you extend every day

to your patients

your pup, your family;

to your community

and strangers alike.

Kindness comes from

abundance within you.

Kindness IS you!

There could never

not be enough–

You could never

not be enough.

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