Do No Harm: Mindful Engagement for A World in Crisis

Recently, I was asked, hopefully by someone deeply rooted in the world of sarcasm, what I’d like his eulogy to be. Being that I’m only thirty, I jokingly replied “He did no Harm.” It was made in humor, yet, just three days later, the book Do No Harm: Mindful Engagement for A World in Crisis made the sentiment a far more lofty outlook.

”Primum non nocere” is a Latin phrase that means “first, do no harm” — a maximum that is traditionally known in the medical world as a way to heal and, at the same time, not create new problems to the patient. It’s a central part of the Doctor’s code, and it seems like it would find its way easily at home in the moral codes of most people. Yet, as this wonderful new work of nonfiction explores, the concept of doing no harm is a truly outstanding, and yet vastly challenging, enterprise. It doesn’t seem in anyway remarkable that you can acquire a reputation for fairness and decency. Those are qualities shared by so many people. And the great majority of people you will meet daily are going to be decent people just trying to navigate their way through the world. But, as Mazur and Wood showcase repeatedly in this book, sometimes people’s best efforts and most humane causes can actually produce new struggles. Hardly anyone who causes conflict in the world does so knowingly and often does so with the best of intentions.

This book attempts, and largely succeeds, in not only examining the global need for collective and progressive improvement but in also managing to provide the reader with the tools needed to improve the circle of humanity that revolves around them. Told in a series of detailed and in-depth interviews, this book not only encourages participation, it also provides so many powerful insights to move the reader towards a more mindful approach to life. Brilliant, richly told, and openly hopeful, this is a book that any world weary person can take comfort in.