You Do All the Things

As I drove home from the Colorado Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CoAND) Conference on Saturday night, I reflected on all I had learned. But my biggest takeaway surprised me. It wasn’t the latest research on lipopolysaccharides, regenerative therapy, or the mucosal microbiome that stood out in my mind.

It was the people in the room.

If you were one of the nearly 100 doctors in attendance at the conference, I saw you. I saw you scribbling notes about immunomodulatory herbs, I saw you asking questions about how this relates to your patients, and I saw you committing 10 hours of a gorgeously sunny day to better yourself and your practice.

There were more things I saw about you too—but only in my mind’s eye.

I saw you behind the closed door of your office, listening with an open heart to your patients.

I saw you staying late after work to make phone calls and research cases.

I saw you keeping track of schedules, paying bills, and cleaning bathrooms.

I saw you chopping vegetables for dinner when you just want to lie on the couch.

I saw you watching your phone in case an urgent call comes in from a patient.

I saw you waking in the night to nurse a newborn baby or jolting from your sleep to calm a child with a nightmare.

I saw you struggling with similar pain, fatigue, and anxiety that you help your patients overcome.

I saw you getting up an hour before the rest of the house—to squeeze in a trip to the gym, pack lunches that will only be half eaten, or clear out your inbox before the day begins.

I saw you never giving up, no matter the odds.

I saw you doing ALL THE THINGS.

And you don’t give yourself enough credit.

Maybe your schedule is not as full as your colleague’s down the street. Maybe your website isn’t as beautiful, your email list isn’t as long, or your Instagram followers aren’t as many.

None of that matters.

Because it is never about them. It is always about you. And the people whose lives you are changing.

You are connecting from the heart with your patients.

You are getting to the root cause of their challenges.

You are discovering ways to heal their pain that nobody has ever discovered.

You are an angel, a gem, a miracle to those you touch. You are a candle in the darkness. You are more than enough.

And you have no idea what an amazing job you are doing.

I am in awe of you.

❤️Sarah

P.S. this post is a reflection from my heart after attending the CoANP Conference in Denver on Saturday, November 10. I will be writing a separate article on another site to summarize the incredible science that was shared that day. When that article goes live, I will link it for you here. To be sure not to miss an update, sign up for the ND PEN SCROLL below.