Editor's Page: Food for Thought

I love BLTs. Always have. My mom used to make me two on white toasted bread for lunch nearly every Saturday during my teenage years. She still puts a pair on a plate for me when my family visits. I lean back in my chair in false protest, claiming I really shouldn’t, and then immediately devour both. 

My parents live on the Jersey Shore, so we always look forward to driving down from Philly. It’s an escape, an opportunity to enjoy the beach, unwind and rejuvenate. Most of the time, anyway. When we took a weekend trip in early August, my mind was elsewhere. I was preoccupied with interviews that had to get done, articles that needed to be written, pages that would need to be proofed.

The pressures of my job were robbing me of quality time away from work. I was distant and detached, and found it difficult to be present. When my mom slid two BLTs in front of me, I forced myself to choke them down.

Truthfully, I find it difficult to compartmentalize work responsibilities, to keep them from overwhelming my thoughts during much-needed downtime. When we send an issue to the printer on the last Friday of each month, the relief is short-lived. The empty pages of the next issue await, and the pressure gradually ratchets up as another print deadline draws closer with each passing day.

These aren’t the same pressures you face running busy ORs. Publishing a magazine about surgery isn’t remotely as difficult as performing it, and patient safety trumps page counts by a wide margin. But stress is relative, and no one is immune to burnout.

Jane Lodato, chief of wellness for the department of surgery at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, told me during an interview for this month’s cover story that practicing mindfulness rewires your neural pathways, allowing you to become less encumbered by stressful situations.

Mindfulness isn’t practiced by meditating yogis to the sounds of Tibetan singing bowls. It’s scientifically proven to help busy professionals like you and me respond with purpose to everyday stressors instead of reacting with emotion.

Ms. Lodato says mindfulness increases productivity and joy in our personal and professional lives, and it only takes minutes a day to reap the benefits. A book about mindfulness sits unread on my nightstand. The Calm app remains untapped on my phone. Maybe it’s finally time to make an effort at being mindful instead of hoping for a stress-free life. I’ve learned that’s an impossible expectation that sets me up for constant disappointment. I need to recognize pockets of relaxation and contentment — my young daughter falling asleep on my chest, autumn walks with my dog, the latest Ted Lasso episode — and be fully present when they happen.

During crunch time at the end of each month, when the editorial team needs to turn Word docs into the words you read, I end up editing and writing after my kids go to bed and my inbox finally stops pinging. I’ll often call up YouTube, plug in ear buds and listen to music while I work.

During a recent after-hours session, a video of Warren Zevon’s last appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman popped into my playlist. I remembered seeing the interview when it aired live in October 2002, and paused to rewatch it.

Warren had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and both men feared it’d be the last time they’d see each other. It was a poignant and somewhat awkward conversation between two longtime friends. Dave finally asked Warren if he knew anything different about life now that he didn’t have much of it left to live.

His advice was simple and profound: “You’re reminded to enjoy every sandwich.” OSM