How an Accident Taught Dr. B.J. Miller About the True Meaning of Life

Dr. B.J. Miller, a hospice and palliative care specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, has the unique perspective of facing mortality as both a doctor and a patient. While he was still a sophomore at Princeton University, he suffered a devastating electrical shock throughout his body. He lost half of his arm and both of his legs below the knee. Still, Dr. Miller says the freak accident ultimately proved to be a spiritual wake-up call.

"The first thing that this did for me was just make it impossible to compare myself to anyone else for a little while," he says. "I couldn't be seduced into thinking I should be doing more or otherwise. Getting through the day, going to the bathroom was hard enough. You know, whatever. The simplest things. It sort of recalibrated me. And that was the first gift was to cease the endless striving, the endless comparing and contrasting myself to others."

Here, Dr. Miller shares with Oprah how this life-altering experience helped him get in touch with the true meaning of his life.

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