A few weeks ago one of those “scary” messages popped up on my car’s dashboard screen.
Next step – get on the internet.
It turns out that the key thing is to look at the grille shutter to see if there is anything stuck in it. If it’s stuck open there isn’t a problem. If it’s stuck close it’s still not life (or car) threatening unless the engine overheats. Sounds straightforward… but, you have to know where to look.
Since (of course) we were over 200 miles from home when this happened, we went to the local dealer and asked if there might be someone who could look to see if it was stuck open or closed.
“We’d have to run a full diagnostic scan first.”
“But we just need someone who knows where to look to just look.”
“We can’t do that. There aren’t any technicians available and they require the scan first.”
(At this point we decided to take our chances and assume it was open)
“You know, we are both doctors…”
He interrupted to say “So you know how important CT scans are!”
I smiled and said, “Not if all you need to do is pull out a splinter.”
The art of diagnosis in medicine starts, very importantly, with the story. It’s actually astounding how often that will make the diagnosis. At the very least, it narrows down the possibilities. (which we call “the differential”).
The physical exam is next, to refine the differential diagnosis and guide you in deciding which tests to order. Even if the triage team has ordered the tests first (like in a busy ER) it’s still very important to go through these steps in order, starting with a “blank slate” so you don’t fall into the trap of the many ways our brains succumb to bias (especially anchoring bias).
What makes this process, the art of diagnosis in medicine (as opposed to my car) unique is the intent. Because we always go through this process for someone else. We make a diagnosis as the first, important step in healing another human being.
Birding is about healing ourselves
We don’t “diagnose” a bird when we go birding. There are some similarities – We look at “field marks” and listen to the songs the same way we collect data from a patient. We also create a “differential” i.e. the list of birds that fit our findings.
But there’s is one big difference – the intent. Birding is not something we do for someone else, it’s something we do for ourselves.
There’s a reason so many people flocked (no pun intended) to parks during COVID to take up birding for the first time. It’s a focused way to be outside and experience a little bit of forest (or lake, or field) “bathing”…to connect with sounds and sights that resonate on a soul level.
Anyone who birds a favorite park over and over knows intuitively why they keep going back: It just feels good. Being in nature—pausing in it, sitting with it, discovering its wonders—brings a sense of calm and renewal.
audubon magazine
Discernment is about healing the world
And then there’s discernment, which comes from a different, deeper intention.
“Discernment” implies more than than just identifying a bird or making a diagnosis. We discern the difference between right and wrong, the correct path in our career, which of two important choices we should make … in other words, discernment helps us find our way in a moral or spiritual sense. Which is why discernment can be is a spiritual practice based on “noticing the movements within your heart and soul — your desires, thoughts, emotions — and identifying where they are coming from and where they are leading you.”
Compassionate action emerges from the sense of openness, connectedness, and discernment you have created.
Joan Halifax
