Via Basel: Year End Message 2016
Year End Message from the Founder’s Father
Dear Family, Friends, and EIL Readers,
This year 2016 has been a difficult and challenging year from a personal and collective perspective. My family has had our share of serious illnesses, some expected, others not at all. Those affected have responded with dignity, grace, and perseverance, and I bow my head in respect to them.
Professionally, after 40 years of an active private orthopedic practice, I am about to make a transition in a few months that is both unsettling and exciting. I am open to the possibilities in this last phase of my life and am looking forward to writing and expressing my thoughts and opinions on various subjects that are close and dear to my heart. Some of these may be direct, controversial, and even disagreeable to many or most of you, but I promise to be respectful and civil even when the gap is wide and seems unbridgeable. My hope is that you respond in kind.
Finally, as I talk about endings, professional or otherwise, I recommend a recent article by Roger Cohen in the online New York Times, about “not going so gently,” which is my plan….
That brings me to the collective challenge we all face at this time and which Cohen hints at towards the end, our current political climate. I think most agree this has been a crude, loud, and divisive election year by any standard and has been disquieting to many. The anger, dissatisfaction, and incivility may have been building up for years and has been extensively analyzed by a variety of pundits. I do not want to add anything at this time of the year except the following:
As we celebrate the holidays and especially the birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace, let us not forget the teachings and principles he stood and died for—compassion, generosity, courage and, ultimately, sacrifice.
May All Be Blessed with Peace in this Holy Season and into the coming Year, 2017.—Basel Al-Aswad
Basel Al-Aswad, father of EIL founder Chris Al-Aswad, is a yogi trapped in an Orthopedic Surgeon’s body. His loves in life include reading, hiking, enjoying nature, meditation, and spending time with his large Iraqi family.
Do Not Go Gentle by Roger Cohen
Via Basel: 2014 An Eventful Year
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