An Evening with Heart Recap
By Cathia Friou
Members and guests of WIF were treated to an evening with heart this week as part of the Social Hour for Social Issues series. Dr. Jonathan Fisher, a cardiologist whose mission is to help others harness the power of the mind-heart connection and create a kinder, more compassionate world, opened the event with an interactive slideshow. He spoke about the six heart breakers – stress, anxiety, depression, anger, loneliness, and grief – and the remedy to each with what he calls “heart wakers.” The nine practices to offset the emotions that can break uour heart, both literally and metaphorically, are: gratitude, optimism, kindness, generosity, joy, laughter, purpose, compassion, and love.
In his book Just One Heart: A Cardiologist’s Guide to Healing, Health, and Happiness Fisher touches on these breakers and wakers plus takes a deep dive into what he dubs the seven timeless traits of steadiness, wisdom, openness, wholeness, courage, lightness, and warmth. He provides the reader with practical guidance on how to cultivate these traits that are so critical to a life of wholeheartedness. Dr. Fisher’s warm personality and open heart was a gift to those who gathered.
A panel of local leaders reflecting on mental health, the importance of rest, and the practice of self-care followed Dr. Fisher’s presentation. The panel was moderated by Helen Hope Kimbrough, Senior Director of Community Voice at Next Stage, and included Dr. Fisher,
Courtnie Coble, the Founder of The Academy of Goal Achievers and a WIF Inaugural Spark Rest & Renewal Award Recipient, and Montina Myers-Galloway, a licensed mental health practitioner with Myers-Galloway Counseling. One of the themes of the discussion was the willingness and self-permission to ask for help. How asking for help was a necessary ingredient on the path to healing for both you and the people in your orbit; family, co-workers, clients, and friends.
Questions from the audience included how to solve the problem of medical doctors being on strict daily schedules with their patients (ex., seeing patients every fifteen minutes for eight straight hours), which is highly stressful on both sides. Dr. Fisher believes it will take the courage of healthcare professionals – by the twos or fives – to standup to management and refuse these untenable conditions. Like many big changes, it’s often small, grassroots efforts that pave the way.
The evening also included honoring WIF’s eight Spark Award recipients and their transformational leadership in Charlotte.
The event took place in the open and airy meeting space on loan from LendingTree in South End, and many of the members and guests were delighted to sit and mingle on the “stairatorium.” The event’s huge turnout speaks to the intersection of mental, emotional, and physical health, and the primacy of self-care. The old airplane adage has never been truer: put your oxygen mask on first.
