Seguro que os suena este nombre. Algunos lo conoceréis por
sus libros sobre la mente humana y la relación entre la vida y la enfermedad,
como Despertares o El hombre que confundió a su mujer con un sombrero. Otros,
seguramente lo habréis visto en los titulares de los periódicos. Sea como sea,
lo cierto es que estos días este prestigioso neurólogo está presente en todos
lados.
Hace nueve años, diagnosticaron a Oliver Sacks un tumor
ocular con una probabilidad extremadamente baja de metástasis. Hace solamente
dos semanas, se enteró de que estaba entre ese desafortunado 2% y que solo le
quedaban unos meses de vida. Viéndose en esta situación, se dispuso a escribir
una emotiva despedida que fue publicada ayer en The New York Times.
Se me hace muy complicado describir cómo es este artículo.
Sencillamente, te deja sin palabras. Oliver Sacks te transmite su optimismo, su
confianza en el mundo y su gratitud de una forma tan intensa y delicada a la
vez, que hace que reflexiones sobre la vida, sobre TU vida.
Aquí os dejo algunos fragmentos de este increíble artículo,
¡disfrutadlo!
“No puedo decir que no tenga miedo. Pero mi sentimiento
predominante es el de la gratitud. He amado y he sido amado; he dado mucho y me
ha dado bastantes cosas; he leído, viajado y escrito”.
“Por encima de todo, he sido un ser con sentidos, un animal
pensante, en este maravilloso planeta y esto, en sí, ha sido un enorme
privilegio y una aventura”
I am
completely sure that you have heard this name. Some of you may know him because
of his books about the links between illnesses and life such as Awakenings or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Perhaps you have seen his name on
the newspaper. Regardless, it is undeniable that this prestigious neurologist
appears everywhere these days.
Oliver
Sacks was diagnosed with a rare tumor of the eye nine years ago. It was very
unlikely to metastasize. Nevertheless, just two weeks ago, he was told that he
was among the unlucky 2%. He does not have more than a few months left. That is
the reason why he decided to write a farewell which was published in The New York Times yesterday.
I find it
extremely difficult to describe this article. It is simply breathtaking and
thought-provoking. You can feel his optimism and thankfulness by reading it. He
opens his heart and speaks his mind in such an honest and intense way, that it
will leave you speechless.
Here there
are some of the most interesting and beautiful parts of it. Enjoy!
"It is
up to me now to choose how to live out the months that remain to me. I have to
live in the richest, deepest, most productive way I can."
"There
will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone
else, ever. When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that
cannot be filled, for it is the fate — the genetic and neural fate — of every
human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own
life, to die his own death."