Journal of Sacred Work

Days 304-306 The Miracle of Your Being

 Blessed be the mind that dreamed the day

The blueprint of your life
Would begin to glow on earth,
Illuminating all the faces and voices
That would arrive to invite
Your soul to growth.

Praised be your father and mother,
Who loved you before you were,
And trusted to call you here
With no idea who you would be.

Blessed be those who have loved you
Into becoming who you were meant to be,
Blessed be those who have crossed your life
With dark gifts of hurt and loss
That have helped to school your mind
In the art of disappointment.

When desolation surrounded you,
Blessed be those who looked for you
And found you, their kind hands
Urgent to open a blue window
In the gray wall formed around you.

Blessed be the gifts you never notice,
Your health, eyes to behold the world,
Thoughts to countenance the unknown,
Memory to harvest vanished days,
Your heart to feel the world's waves,
Your breath to breathe the nourishment
Of distance made intimate by earth.

On this echoing-day of your birth, 


May you open the gift of solitude
In order to receive your soul;
Enter the generosity of silence
To hear your hidden heart;
Know the serenity of stillness
To be enfolded anew
By the miracle of your being

 By John O’Donohue

 

 

Dedicated to Erie Chapman, Happy birthday, May the Beauty you love return to bless you 10,000 fold.

 

 

 

 

Photo: Self Portrait by Erie Chapman

 

Contributed by Liz Wessel

First image: Artwork by ~liz

Days 299-303 - Magic Trees

 When my son was two I positioned him by a tree for a photograph. I asked him to look at another tree and told him it was magic.

 His belief transformed both him & the tree. The actual magic shows in the subsequent photo of his transfixed face.

   Sensitive beings see magic everywhere. For example, a friend startled me with a strange fact: Aspens live in colonies connected by the same root system. In fact, they are the most widespread tree in North America forming continuous communities that spread from Newfoundland down to Maryland, from Alaska down to Washington & all along the Appalachians. 

   Scientist Michael Grant wrote about these magic trees in a 1993 edition of Discover Magazine. He named the colony he highlighted Pando (Trembling Giant - in photo.)

   "Pando is a remarkable massive colony...spread over more than 100 acres in Utah. Every tree in the area shoots from a single organism, and they share a giant underground root system. It's estimated that Pando collectively weighs 6,615 tons, making it the heaviest living organism on the planet."

   Grant writes that, "their intricate network of roots can ferry nutrients from one part of the [colony] to another. Roots near an abundant water supply, for example, may provide water to other roots and shoots in a much drier area."

   As one organism, Aspens literally nurture each other in an underground dance of caregiving. 

   Are the Aspens telling us something? Are we all connected by "a spiritual root system" nurtured by Love? 

-Erie Chapman

(Image rephotograhed from Discover Magazine for educational use)

Days 297-298: Maybe

How often do we let our minds jump ahead into the future to fill in the pages of our life story before it unfolds? Anticipation about the future fosters expectations either about events and/or the people we encounter.  Disappointment results when those expectations are not met. A simple illustration of this phenomenon can occur when a new movie comes out that is all the rage. Your friends all tell you how great it is and you have to see it. However, by the time you watch the show your expectations are so high that you find yourself a little disappointed.

Some of my peak life experiences have occurred when my canvas is blank and I have no expectations going into a situation. What unfolds holds mystery and makes life interesting.  Preconceived notions about how life “is supposed to be” can stifle natural creativity. When we loosen our grip on our need to know, or forsafety and trust our Inner Guide (Holy Spirit) new realms for growth and healing will appear.

The following story is a lovely reminder not to judge our experience as either good or bad but to greet life’s unfolding with an open mind and heart.

Liz Sorensen Wessel

Photo by my niece, Chrissy Maio

 

Journal Days 292-296 - Secret Closets

   Until recently millions of gay people hid their truth. "Coming out of the closet" required great courage. All those centuries of societal discrimination silenced millions. Fortunately, bias has eased.

   Some still hold a smug attitude about the hidden lives of others - as if they had no secret closets of their own. Don't we all hide things?

   Caregivers know vast amounts of private information about patients. Some of it might seem "damning." Yet, caregiving turns on trust.

   As a lawyer & ordained minister I have heard criminals confess to murder, clients admit child abuse & others acknowledge addiction. Each carried the protection of confidentiality. 

   Confession may be good for the soul. But is publicizing our secrets always helpful? Does our desire to "confess" improve the lives of others in every case?  

   In 2009 I suffered a bout of depression and shared my pain with colleagues. I was startled by the disdain & fear that I faced. It does not matter now but should I have stayed silent then? 

   On the other hand, when a school teacher learned that I had lived with Crohn's disease for fifty years she shared that her ten-year old daughter had it too. "She might wish confidentiality," I advised, "many will label her."

   I never wanted to be "the guy with Crohn's," but this young lady felt otherwise. At her tender age, she had become a spokesperson for facing Crohn's publicly.

  Either choice is legitimate. 

  Some keep secrets closeted fearing the brutality of society's sanctions. But, millions of others see silence as wisdom. They stay quiet because they know that revelation wreaks havoc on the innocent as well as on themselves. 

   People once asked me how I could defend a "guilty" client. Could you give your best care to a child abuser?

   It can take as much courage to keep secrets as it can to tell them. Radical Loving Care teaches tolerance either way. It is a hard & crucial lesson.

-Reverend Erie Chapman

Days 290-291- Like the Dignity of Moonlight

 
Increasingly, I am astonished by the connection that our inner thoughts have on creating our outer reality. We may find ourselves in a revolving loop until we get the lesson we are meant to learn. On a spiritual realm we are encouraged to look within.

When an encounter throws us off balance, rather than resist, take flight or contest, we might just ask ourselves a question or two about how our thoughts color the world we see. What does this tell me about myself? This alone may shift our energy enough to see in a new light as our darkness dissipates.

When our defenses fall, we recognize that what we have been seeking is a return to love. It is always comes back to love or perhaps, our mistaken thought that we are not worthy. Thoughts are powerful. We are not separate from one another and I’ve heard it said that all distress is really a call for Love.

 

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore, 
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul. 

As the wind loves to call things to dance, 
May your gravity be lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth, 
     May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect. 

As water takes whatever shape it is in, 
So free may you be about who you become. 

As silence smiles on the other side of what's said, 
May your sense of irony bring perspective. 

As time remains free of all that it frames, 
May your mind stay clear of all it names. 

May your prayer of listening deepen enough 
to hear in the depths the laughter of God.

By- John O' Donohue

Contributed by Liz Sorensen Wessel

Mandala by  ~liz

Days 285-289 - David Whyte - one of your angels...

   Amid her life's coda my angelic mother-in-law, Marian Lokvam, water-colored an image I imagine as her soul flying towards eternity. Her angel greets you with the gift of her art.

   We need such gifts. Your daily work, with all its benefits, can suck the heart out of you. The more mired you become in the false security of "the company" the more you fear losing that "security."

   Fear blocks love. Your spirit risks suffocation.

   The arts are not a past-time. They are vital to maintaining your soul's balance.

   You & I need a guide.

   That is why poet David Whyte is a caregiver. He is the only being I know who has dedicated his career to helping you bridge the land of your workplace with the landscape of the arts.

   That is why he is one of your angels. He is what one friend calls "a compassionate genius."

   Invite Whyte into your world. Read his seminal book, The Heart Aroused. Listen to his voice soothe you with his poems. 

   In one poem, "This Life," Whyte alludes to one overpowered by work: "He has left the life/ he once tried to love/ now it is only a shadow/ calling for another shadow/ and this shadow/ wants to become real again."

   Have you fallen out of love with caregiving? Whyte's subject wants to live anew "before the specter haunts me to my/ grave."

   There is a milligram of fear here: Watch out or you will reach your life's end aboard a regret-flooded gurney haunted by angels you ignored.

   Whyte wrote about me in reviewing my book, Radical Loving Care that I was a "beacon of light in American healthcare." But, Whyte is the beacon - your beacon.

   Let David Whyte's light shine into your life & you will experience the soul-refreshing presence of one of your angels.

-Erie Chapman  

Days 283-284 World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, 2014

 

October 11, is dedicated to raising awareness of the need for quality care end of life care in our country as well as across the globe.

I have devoted most of my career in the home health care setting with a compelling motivation to support patients and family members in the final stage of life. Most people say that they would like to remain at home surrounded by the love of family in their last days, yet sadly less that 25% of people actually die at home.

An unspoken covenant is often made between clinicians and the patients they encounter. It goes something like this; “I know that this is scary and I want you to know that we will be with you every step of the way. I will not abandon you.” Helping to normalize the experience of dying as a natural part of life is a tremendous help.  

This is exactly how Dr. Ed. Mulhern, my mother’s long term family physician, friend and extraordinary human being, was present to support our family.  He not only cared for our mother’s ailing body but more importantly, her spirit. He gently eased her transition from this earthly life while simultaneously encouraging each of us adult children to accept the inevitable.

Dr. Mulhern visited my mom every day (including weekends) for 3 weeks while she was in the hospital. Once she came home he called every day to check on her (and us) and was collaborative in helping to manage her pain and symptoms to ensure her comfort. Dr. Mulhern sees with the eyes of the Soul. His approach is not unique to any one patient because he cares for all his patients in this kind and thoughtful manner. Ed Mulhern truly lives Radical Loving Care.

Although, it seems that we have made great strides in advancing quality end of life care, I am also mindful that much of our medical community is still stuck in an old paradigm of healthcare provision. One that is focused on the treatment of diseases of the body in isolation of the many facets of illness and the impact on body, mind and spirit.

There are many misconceptions of hospice care in our country. Often, the ill person and family think that hospice means “everyone is giving up on me” and there is "nothing more we can do." Sadly, many people access hospice only in the last few days of life. At our ministry 50% of patients admitted to hospice die within seven days or less. They do not have the opportunity to experience the wonderfully holistic approach of hospice care, which is not about dying but living each day to the fullest.

There is also a great deal of misunderstanding of palliative care, which many people equate with hospice care. The following is the definition of palliative care and helps to explain the difference.

A Definition of Palliative Care from the Center to Advance Palliative Care:

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It is focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and the stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

Palliative care is provided by a team of doctors, nurses, and other specialists who work together with a patient's other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment (CAPC).

I dedicate this reflection to the many caring physicians, families, caregivers and clinicians who create miracles daily by offering the most precious gift imaginable; their love. 

Liz Sorensen Wessel

Watercolor by ~liz

 

 

Days 278-282 Finding Your Soul

   Your soul is an aura that both surrounds & occupies you. It extends beyond your body's boundaries.

   If you want to feel your soul's presence, love without conditions for a moment. You will immediately feel your light.

   You may have also experienced your soul's larger presence (as have I) on occasions when your consciousness suddenly expands radically before you return to your mind's dominance. 

   Because the soul has no defined boundaries, distance is not an obstacle to its expression. That is why "distance prayers" can have an impact.

   John O’Donohue wrote that “Where there is spiritual affinity between two people, distance cannot block their presence to each other.” 

   There is a kinship of the soul - a way in which you recognize another being as sharing the blood of your heart. Ever after, you know a spirit-love that defies separation - even in death. 

   The film, "Babette's Feast" offers an example:

   The physical affinity of a pair of lovers is permanently blocked by a stern father. Decades later, old age brings a surprise redemption.

   The man tells his lover that although they were physically separated their souls were always conjoined & her spirit was with him constantly - when he slept, awoke, dined or made any meaningful decision. 

   Physical separation could not obstruct their spiritual connection.

   Consider love's relationships. 

      How much closer can two beings become than when one is completely encompassed by the other? When the cord between you & your mother was cut your struggle to escape loneliness & regain connection began.  

   Lovers seek full communion (or is it a reunion, a return to the union they had pre-birth?) Yet, love's intercourse brings them both ecstasy & a haunting question: Why can't we accomplish the complete integration that our hearts seek?  

   The body’s veils frustrate this connection.

   Gladly, your soul has no skin boundaries.  When lovers experience, through either romance or caregiving, the affinity of both skin & soul they fall into Love's light. 

   Your body is a form carved in the air. But, your soul's shape shifts, expanding or contracting based on whether you nourish it with love. 

   Your ethereal soul cannot be trapped like an animal. Try to capture the invisible & you will be as frustrated as the lover who seeks only physical oneness with his beloved or the caregiver who seeks to heal using only mechanisms. 

   Light shines forth in mothers, lovers and caregivers when body and soul are engaged.

   That is how Jesus & others healed - with loving touches that opened their soul’s sun to extinguish another's darkness.

   Radical Loving Care happens through a body-soul partnership. As the ego contracts the soul expands.

   Commit an act of love now & your spirit will instantly expand to warm both you & the soul of the other. 

  -Reverend Erie Chapman   

Related articles

Days 139-143 - The Shape of Soft

Days 276-277: Peace

“If planetary peace seems beyond our reach recall:

Miracles are natural when we rely on the Source of All to carry our burdens with us.

 Then even peace is possible.”                                                         ~ Nan Merill and Barbara Taylor

 

 "Any great virtue (hope, faith, love) requires our full attention and participation in our lives…if the virtue is going to become a reality.

 We cannot say that we want to be loved, and...

…then not love and support others.

We cannot say that we want a country that is at peace, and…

…then say that we hate a particular group of citizens that make up our country.

We must be co-creating, (with God and one another) the world in which, we want to live and be in; if we are able to do so, planetary peace can become much more than a lofty dream."

                                                                                                                                                        -Joshua Lee

 Contributed by Liz Sorensen Wessel

Artwork by ~liz

Days 273-275 - More Moments With the Beautiful O'Donohue

   Your ability as a caregiver to linger in Beauty may often be compromised by work noise. Train your heart and you will see her amid that noise.

   Find new ways to experience beauty through your personal expressions. Whether you pick writing, painting, sculpting or another art form does not matter.

   What counts is your willingness to expand your definition of beauty beyond the way you may have experienced her in the past.

   Everyone likes Hallmark card images of flowers and small children. But, if we stop there we miss the gorgeous experience of abstract art, poetry that does not rhyme, the female nude & even the primal rhythms of rap music.

   It is not necessary to like all of these art forms. This is about meeting Beauty on different & richer terms. 

   Here is O'Donohue:

   Beauty does not linger, it only visits. Yet beauty's visitation affects us and invites us into its rhythm, it calls us to feel, think and act beautifully in the world: to create and live a life that awakens the Beautiful. A life without delight is only half a life. Lest this be construed as a plea for decadence or a self-indulgence that is blind to the horrors of the world, we should remember that beauty does not restrict its visitations only to those whom fortune or circumstances favour. Indeed, it is often the whispers and glimpses of beauty which enable people to endure on desperate frontiers. Even, and perhaps especially, in the bleakest times, we can still discover and awaken beauty; these are precisely the times when we need it most.  Nowhere else can we find the joy that beauty brings.

   In your "bleakest times" as a caregiver, beauty extends her hand offering a private sanctuary where you may rest.

-Erie Chapman

Photograph: "Brown-Gold" - Erie