Years ago, a student asked anthropologist Margaret Mead what she considered to be the first sign of human civilization. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization was a femur 1/
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization was a femur 1/
that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone
has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said."
We are at our best when we help others. Be civilized.
**Ira Byock, in his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life (Avery, 2012)
Via Savitha Suri
**Ira Byock, in his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life (Avery, 2012)
Via Savitha Suri
