Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

FORMS OF ARTISTRY KRISTEN S. YEE * Often the truest answer to a question that really matters can befound very close. . . . Only recently did I realize this: that through years of listening to my mother's stories of her life, I have absorbed not only the stories themselves , but something of the manner in which she spoke, something of the urgency that involves the knowledge that her stories—like her life—must be recorded . —Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens I finally decided within the last two years to pursue a career in medicine. Partly because people always ask me, and partly because of my own contemplative nature, I still explore the question of why I want to become a physician : what in medicine so deeply resonates with me and draws me to it? In choosing to interview my mother on her development into a massage therapist and, in her words, "energy healer," I realize now that I was seeking another answer to that question. Since her childhood, my mother has been an artist; painting—in a Chinese style that came to be infused with that of the West—has been her passion and principal vocation. Her movement to massage from painting, she admits, seems "bizarre" in light ofher long dedication to art. Massage, however, was something into which she claims to have "fallen." Her interest was first piqued by the energetic conversation of two of her yoga classmates on a massage course. When she approached them, they told her that it was interesting, and also very useful for them, their families, and their friends. She remembers saying to herself at the time, "Noway! Idon'twant to touch people's bodies." The idea, however, had taken root in her mind. She convinced my father to take a course with her by reminding him that as they grew older, they would have more aches and pains which could be relieved by massage. They found that they not only enjoyed the instructor and the class, but they also became more interested in exploring "the touching aspect" of life. Pursuing further classes in advanced massage and foot reflexology opened my mother's eyes to the connections between every *5928 Bethel Park Drive, Bethel Park, PA 15102.© 1999 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0031-5982/99/4203-998$01.00 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 42, 4 ¦ Summer 1999 581 part of the body. Characteristically, she then began to read anything and everything she could find on massage. An interesting incident occurred which reflects the seemingly non-random nature of her search: When Marilyn was teaching us, she also took a trip to the Philippines. In her absence , Daddy and I went to a bookstore and there was one book—my eyejust kind of stuck to it. So I pulled it out, I looked, and I bought it. It was called Psychic Surgery in the Philippines. So I read and read, and then it suddenly dawned on me that that was why Marilyn was in the Philippines. Though this episode could easily be considered mere coincidence, its importance lies in the belief and faith it evoked in my mother and the meaning she ascribed to it; it seems to echo the fervor of belief that persons trained more scientifically can hold in processes which they cannot observe directly. Feeling led by "someone up there [who] was teaching [her]" and "guiding [her] step by step," she decided that healing through energy was her goal in life. Painting had also been part of the goal of her life. How, I asked, were these two very different disciplines connected? When this massage interest came along, I realized that that is one of the aspects of my life—to communicate through that, through art, and also to talk to people. Remember at that time, I had the [art] gallery and there were a lot of people who came into the shop to talk to me, like to seek me out. A lot of people came just to talk. Some people came for advice, that's for sure. I felt I had a need to know more about life, because so many people seem to...