Dedication

We wrapped up #GivingTuesday yesterday with a thank you. I was looking for an image to accompany this post and I found an image of Banting working in his lab. I have not done any posts about “object attachment”, that is finding a certain object appealing.

My logic for using this photo in our “thank you” was look, here is Banting here at his work, and we are here doing our work.

I was struck by the simplicity of this photograph. Here is someone who has done so much for the world and yet he maintains a simple pipe, simple pen and simple outfit. He even admitted that after receiving the Nobel Prize in 1923 that he wished to distance himself from the founding of insulin so he could pursue other work. How many people think like that?

As I was admiring the photo, I was thinking of a few questions: As we sit here working in our “offices”, what is our work environment like? Are we truly dedicated to what we are working on? Do we understand what we are working for?

As I am slowly wrapping up my time at Banting House, I think about how my office is the historical home of someone who did so much. Was I dedicated? Yes, I would say so. I was dedicated to sharing the story of Banting and the role of insulin with the visitors to the site, both physical and virtual. Do I know what I am working for? Well, I’m still thinking on that… I can only say that while I might “be distant” from this place eventually physically, its shadow and the work I did here will be with me throughout my museum career.