In many ways this has been a winter of profound discontent. My response to the barrage of news and undercurrent of uncertainty is to stay focused on what matters—to the INI community, to the UI community, to the scientific community. External developments have no bearing on our core values and commitments.
We can also use focused, calming activities to give our bodies and minds a break. It doesn’t mean we are giving up. It only means we acknowledge that our bodies and brains can’t function on high alert all the time. Everyone finds peace in different ways, and I encourage you to protect time in your daily and weekly life for whatever brings you joy and calm. If fine art is a creative outlet for you, consider sharing your work in the College of Medicine’s upcoming Health Science Campus Art Show.
I find that reading poetry allows me to slow down, shut out the noise, and focus on the music of the language on the page. Some of my favorite poems offer clarity to the complexities that surround me, while others resist easy interpretation, content to let the mystery be.
Last month, I shared “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke with those who attended our Lunch with INI Directors. This poem has grounded me since I first encountered it as a high school student, when I thought I would become a poet. I return to it often to remind myself: “I learn by going where I have to go.” Try reading it aloud. Don't worry about what the words mean; let the sounds wash over you.
The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
Ted
February 2026