I see within Quindlen s words a timeless and universal spiritual principle, which is that challenge to truly see another human being without prejudice and without preconception. This timeless principle, which is taught by all the religions in the world, asks us to see another person or even to see the world with an open heart and an open mind.
Attention is the meaning in the word minister.
To minister is to attend to a people or to attend to a public trust. It is to be attentive, to be mindful of the well-being of those people or that trust. And so ministry requires some ability to see with an open heart and mind. I had never seen anyone die naturally before. It seems to me that if there is anything unique about being an attending physician, it is the force with one s daily work demands a vision of the direction of a genuine inner development .