Nearly 40 years ago, I fell in love with the process of healing. I witnessed it each day as I watched my immigrant parents care for patients in their medical clinic in Miami. And later, as a physician and the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States, I was privileged to work with countless people on their healing journeys

Here is one thing I learned along the way: nearly all of us want to build a life of joy, connection, and meaning. We want to be fulfilled. But increasingly, it has felt harder and harder to do so. We’re working long hours with full calendars, but we’re not as content as we thought we would be. Loneliness has become common, and too often we find ourselves navigating life’s struggles by ourselves.

I’ve felt this too. I’ve spent years pursuing goals and checking boxes, but feeling empty and alone after the momentary high of an achievement wore off.

But I’ve also felt the opposite. The comfort of having a friend just sit with me when illness unexpectedly struck my family. The quiet contentment of making pancakes with my children on the weekend (one of my favorite rituals). The unexpected electric connection to thousands of other people at a Coldplay concert (one of my favorite bands). And a sense of gratitude and peace at being able to help my parents during their hour of need - just as they have done countless times for me.

The question is: how do we enrich a life with these moments of deep meaning when the forces around us too often push these experiences to the margins, further and further from our grasp?

Staying Human is a conversation I’m starting about how to navigate our messy world to find deep, lasting fulfillment. It’s about building relationships that fill us up. It’s about finding our sense of purpose and meaning. It’s about reengineering our relationship with technology and reexamining our definitions of success and time well spent.

If you are someone who is seeking to make sense of life, looking for a new path forward, searching for a sense of joy, or desiring to build community, you are in the right place.

In this space, you’ll be a part of a conversation with me and others around the world who are asking the same questions. I’ll be sharing stories, deciphering science, offering reflections, and posing questions that will help us find insights and actions that we can incorporate into our lives. I hope you’ll share your thoughts, experiences, and wisdom in return.

The world is moving faster and faster. So this conversation you’re about to join has never been more timely or necessary.

I hope you’ll join me.

With gratitude,
Vivek

Staying Human is brought to you by The Together Project, a national effort to build connection in a time of widespread loneliness. The Together Project is made possible through the support of the Knight Foundation and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.