Eric Lamp

Photo courtesy of Eric Lamp

This section highlights a local person of interest and admiration, a person whose achievements, manner, leadership, and/or character distinguish them.  If you know people we should include, please apprise us at editor@candor.news, and we will interview them for future issues of Candor. In your submission, include the person’s name, noteworthy traits and accomplishments, and their contact information.

In this issue, we are highlighting Eric Lamp

How did you get established in Wichita and what keeps you here? 

 I’m a native of Wichita and spent most of my formative years here. Growing up, we lived in St. Louis in the early ’70s and then ended up graduating high school in Florence, Colorado, but I came back to Wichita for college, where I attended Friends University. There I met Michelle, whom I later married. What keeps me in Wichita are the amazing people!

As you look back over your life, highlight a couple of your most satisfying accomplishments or contributions; and explain why.

I think that raising, with my wife, four children into adults, whom I truly enjoy spending time with, would be both an accomplishment and a contribution. It was a significant challenge for sure, but mostly because I “overparented” for way too long. Once I became more engaged in who they were rather than who I thought they should be, the process became much more enjoyable. 

What have been the happiest, most fulfilling times of your life?

For me, probably most of the fulfilling times in my life were not always the happiest. I have found that pursuing things that were meaningful, though difficult, resulted in a more fulfilling outcome than many of the things that made me “happy.”  Perhaps, happiness is more of an “upon reflection” issue. 

Favorite Wichita landmark?

I would have to say Century II is my favorite Wichita landmark. I love architecture and I’m enamored with the Frank Loyd Wright structures that we have, and the protégés of Frank Lloyd Wright who built several buildings here in Wichita. When I lived in Berkeley and went to a conference across the bay in Marin County at the Civic Center, that venue was a Frank Lloyd Wright that looks, in part, almost identical to Century II. I’ve had an opportunity to tour the Alan Lamb house as well as the Education Building on the campus of WSU. 

Life is full of teachers and lessons. What are some key lessons that you learned early to great eventual advantage?

I think one of the earliest lessons I learned was how powerful it was to have people around you who believed you were capable of success. It’s often very difficult for us to hear positive things, however, especially when we’re young, I think it’s incredibly influential when we have people we trust who believe in us. I do my best to pass that on to other young people; it’s not difficult to believe in someone more than they believe in themselves, especially when they’re capable. More recently I’ve learned to listen to other people with an honorable curiosity, to try to understand where a person is coming from and ideally learn something from their experience or life.

In what most significant and non-physical ways have you changed throughout your adult life? 

Learning to navigate life at a much lower stress level has been a significant change. And more recently, likely because of the pandemic, I began to slow down the pace at which I commit myself.

Would you be willing to share a set of circumstances that required you to dig deep to do what was right or what was necessary?

I left my first two jobs in optometry as a result of conflicts with my employers who were difficult to navigate. In both cases, I left without another job offer which took a lot of faith. Looking back, they were both good decisions, just very stressful. 

Tell us about the last really good book you read.

I’ll share two. The last one I read that was delightful was Anxious People by Frederik Backman. It’s a fascinating journey into human nature and how circumstances can affect us. He’s a fantastic writer and I found myself laughing out loud and weeping sometimes within a few pages. The second book that was transformative for me was The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. He’s a psychologist and professor at NYU His writing is about moral foundations and how we come to believe what we believe is right or wrong. It changed how I listen and understand other people, especially those I disagree with. 

In this difficult season of the pandemic, did you learn or have reinforced anything about yourself? About others?

I’ve learned that not everyone has an extensive background in science and that people tend to listen primarily to people they trust. Whether the people they trust have the best information sometimes can be problematic, especially if there is a profit motive involved. Since the pandemic began I’ve probably had over 5,000 conversations with different individuals in Wichita about it and I’ve been astounded by the variance of information and misinformation that I’ve encountered. As I have lost several dozen patients to COVID, I’ve been saddened by how dangerous misinformation can be. 

Any life regrets?

I have very few. As I look back on my life, most of the things that I would have considered a regret turned out to be valuable life lessons that helped shape who I am. However, one that comes to mind would be that I wish I would’ve asked my mom more questions while she was still with us. I feel like I spent a lot of time when I was with her talking; instead of listening.

What will be a hopeful path to Wichita‘s future wellbeing?

I think if we were to start interacting with each other as if we had met while traveling in another country it would be a good start. That connectivity that occurs when we see somebody with a Wichita State shirt while we’re in Southern California is taken for granted when we’re both in Wichita. I guess starting with what connects us, what we have in common, our shared interests and values, rather than what we differ on. I believe that would advance wellbeing for all of us.