I was off to enjoy the afternoon at one of the local vineyards. We had taken a picnic as this particular vineyard had set up tables for just that purpose. After the tasting, you could go out and take in the panoramic views of the mountains while enjoying cheese and grapes with the wine of choice. This particular afternoon, the mountains had taken on the many breathtaking colors of blue for which they are named. The interplay of sun and clouds danced off the sides of the mountains bringing shades of Italy to the Piedmont of North Carolina. The Tuscany stone building set in the middle of the vineyard in combination with the infusion of Chianti grapes with the local wild cherry set a peaceful relaxation.

The people next to us were chatting incessantly about this or that and I allowed the beauty of the afternoon drown out any intrusive thoughts. Then I started to hear that their patients were idiots who were taking vitamins and minerals. I could not separate the joy of the surroundings with the intrusion of lambasting individuals who were trying to stay healthy. It was obviously a table of doctors from the local medical institutions building up their egos; how smart they are and how stupid their patients are. Even if they believed this, could they not hold their voices down so as not to intrude on others?

The first thought that came to mind; why did you go to medical school to serve the masses if you have no compassion for the ones you serve. There must be empathy for sick, otherwise, you are just trying to make enough money to pay off your school loans, buy a large home on top of a mountain, and perhaps a yacht for the Chesapeake. Why would they let the disgust for their patients efforts destroy such a beautiful afternoon? Worse, why would you believe that twelve years of school was any better than millenniums of common practice for chronic medical conditions? After all, is medicine not an art to relieve the ailing by weaving science and centuries of common practice into a balm for suffering? We all know the eventual outcome – death. It is the living of the years between birth and death that we want to be filled with love, joy, and peace. Why would you want to give such arrogance an opportunity to destroy this tranquility?

After the beginning of another tirade about how stupid his patient was for taking vitamin D3 and MSM to lower his blood pressure, I took another sip of Sangiovese and separated myself from this delusion of grander. – Pandemic Survivor