“Your silence will not protect you.” These piercing words come from Audre Lorde, the Black lesbian feminist, poet, and civil rights activist who wrote one of the most urgent essays on identity and illness ever published. In The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action, published in 1984, she reminds
“I’m ok” is not ok. In medicine, strength is often a mask — and silence isolates us. Healing begins when we ask for help. We are not our performance or perfection; we are human. Let’s name the struggle, end the myth of invulnerability, and make it safe to be seen and rescued.
Empathy in medicine and leadership isn’t sharing your story — it’s offering presence. People don’t want equivalence; they want to feel seen. Listen with humility, ask with curiosity, and hold space without making it about you. “I’m here” speaks louder than “I know how you feel.”
We talk a lot about fixing healthcare with policies and metrics. But change doesn’t come by force — it comes by longing. Longing for dignity, compassion, and the calling that drew us here. Let’s stop managing the deck and start longing for the sea.