Journal of Sacred Work

Days 30-34 - Who Should Lead Caregivers?

   It happens routinely with often tragic results. Nurses & doctors train hard & pass multiple tests to gain certification in their profession. But, those promoted into leadership roles often have neither the training nor the potential for leadership. Some "D-" leaders were straight "A" students. 

   Thus tens of thousands of people who are not directors become one because the system misunderstands something crucial: Leadership requires completely different skills.

   Mark Twain wrote, "The difference between the right word & the nearly right word is the difference between lightning & a lightning bug." In leadership, the difference between the right leader & the wrong one is the difference between the sun & gloom. 

  So what? Every study shows that the biggest influence on caregiver satisfaction & performance is the boss. How caregivers feel & whether they respect their supervisor determines culture & performance.

   A bad boss sabotages morale & success. The right manager brings out the best. Effective caregiving is so crucial that bosses should be trained, selected & tested using enlightened methods.  

   This is so logical that one wonders why bad bosses survive. Why? Famed educator Sal Khan uses a simple analogy. In some martial arts beginning students are awarded a white belt. They only progress to yellow when they have demonstrated competency. Higher levels up to the black belt are progressively more difficult. 

   Of course, our school system is the opposite. Elementary & high school students are routinely promoted to the next grade regardless of whether they have mastered the material. This system also taints the school leadership process. Some gifted teachers are promoted to principals whether or not they possess leadership skills.

   Passing this column along to senior leadership & board members (& recommending the book pictured) can begin to help change this insidious process. Meanwhile, too many patients & caregivers suffer.

-Erie Chapman

Days 28-29 "The One Who Dreamed the Universe"

Note: shared by Liz Wessel;  an excerpt from "Eternal Echoes" by John O’Donohue.

“The one who dreamed the universe loved circles. There is some strange way in which everything that goes forward is somehow still travelling within the embrace of the circle. Longing and belonging are fused within the circle. The day, the year, the ocean’s way, the light, the water, and the life insist on moving in the rhythm of the circle.

The beauty of the mind is its circle form. Yet the circle of the mind is broken somewhere. This fracture is always open; it is the secret well from which all longing flows. All prayer, love creativity, and joy come from this source. The breakage within us is what makes us human and vulnerable.

Your body is open physically to the world and the well of your mind flows out of ancient ground.  The face of the well is on the surface; it is a pure and surprising presence. Yet the biography of the well is hidden under eternities of mountain and clay. Similarly, within you the well is an infinite source. As long as you are on this earth, this well will never run dry.

The flow of thought, feeling, image and word will always continue. This is, in a sense, a frightening inner opening-anything can flow through from the distant and unknown mountains. Part of the wonder of living a real life is to make peace with this infinite inner opening.”

-John O'Donohue

 

These eloquently expressed words by the late John O’ Donohue encourage us to go deeper within. In the photo above, light reflected on the water creates a new image. I am grateful to Erie Chapman, the JSW and readers for the many pathways you have created as openings into a new way of seeing.

 

 "Each day a thousand treasures come to me with every passing moment.

I am blessed with gifts throughout the day, in value far beyond all things of which I can conceive.

 A brother smiles upon another, and my heart is gladdened.

Someone speaks a word of gratitude or mercy, and my mind receives this gift.

 And everyone who finds the way to God (Love) becomes my savior, pointing out the way to me, and giving me his certainty that what he learned is surely mine (and ours) as well. "

~A Course in Miracles

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel

Photo: San Diego Waterfront by ~liz

Days 23-27 - Changing the Past

   "Change" signs like the ones in the photograph remind me of the cartoon picturing a woman asking a priest for two fives for a ten. The priest says, "Change comes from within."

   What a lucky truth. We may not be able to change some people or circumstances outside us but we can change how we see both and our shared past.

   We cannot alter historic events but we can, in effect, "change" our past by changing the lens through which we see it. Since perception determines our reality why not manage that?

   Consider your turning point events. 

   Years ago I was fired from a job even though everyone agreed I & the organization had performed incredibly well. I felt betrayed by three people who I believed schemed to push me out for their personal benefit. 

   This conclusion became a personal "fact." A shiny "past" was exchanged for a smudged one.

   My life grew better when I changed my past once again. This meant redefining hurtful behaviors as less personal & hard times as the natural results of success.  

   Similarly, some spouses distort thirty year marriages because of a perceived betrayal in the final year. They "change" their past by allowing a hard ending to shadow decades of happy occasions.  Other spouses with similar experiences avoid this trap by honoring good memories rather than dwelling on final failures. 

   Our past is a library of books we wrote. Rewrite those books & you change your life. 

   "Change comes from within." 

-Erie Chapman

Photograph by Erie

Days 21-22 When Lightning Strikes

Reflection by Liz Wessel

On walks through Irvine Park I have often passed by this tree but not without notice. Each time I find myself pausing to gaze upon her with curiosity and awe.

This tree sustained a great shock when she was struck by lightning years ago. One aspect of the tree withered and died that day. Yet, she rose up from the ashes and has been able to flourish. What inspires the greening of new life beyond all odds?

 Change can strike us to our core and catch us unaware. Something unexpected; the loss of an ideal, a job, our health, a relationship, and most significant of all, the loss of someone we love. 

This tree is instructive in the resiliency of the human spirit. We too learn to adapt and grow regardless of our life circumstances. No matter what confronts us, God is  present and love informs our lives. Hope springs eternal.

 

Creator God:
Give us a heart
 for simple  things:
Love and laugher
Bread and wine
Tales and dreams.

Fill our lives with
Green and growing
Hope;
Make us a people of
Justice
Whose song is
Allelujah
And whose name breathes
Love.

Prayer by -Walter Wink

Liz Sorensen Wessel

Photo art by ~liz

Days 16-20 "Delivered From Distraction"

   Poor Miss. Atmur. Chip (my nickname) had disrupted her 2nd grade class once again with his "silly" behavior. 

   Back in 1951 it would have been impossible for her to diagnose my problem: ADD. It took a lifetime to gain relief. 

   A month ago I swallowed a single pill (Vyvanse.) Within thirty minutes, sixty years of irritating distract-ability melted into an unfamiliar sense of well-being.

   No cure is perfect. The pill can only be taken once a day & lasts eight hours. I continue to overreact to loud noise. Yet, the core improvement is dramatic.

   Society has routinely punished rather than treated ADD. But it is now clear that some of our most successful scientists, artists & leaders have been plagued with this disorder. 

   Here is a deeply important point from psychiatrist Daniel Barton, M.D.: ADD & bipolar illness often co-occur & can aggravate each other! Curing one can alleviate the other. 

    How could ADD sufferers affect you in positive ways? Consider some ADHD/Bipolar sufferers who changed the world. They include Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain (bipolar) & Abe Lincoln (depression) along with artists from Beethoven to Brahms & entertainers. For example, note the frenetic yet creative energy of the late Robin Williams & the great Jim Carry.

   In their powerful book, Delivered from Distraction Drs. John J. Ratey MD & Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. shed light: "People with ADD often have a special “feel” for life, a way of seeing right into the heart of matters,...This is the person who can’t tell you how he thought of the solution, or where the idea for the invention came from, or why suddenly he produced such a painting never having painted before, or how he knew the shortcut to the answer for the geometry problem. All she can say is she just saw it, she could feel it."

   With their sometimes uncanny intuition people with ADD can transform our lives, these two experts say.

   "In places where most people are blind, the person with ADD can, if not see the light, at least feel the light, and she can produce answers, apparently out of the dark. It is important for others to be sensitive to this “sixth sense” many ADD people have, and to nurture it. If the environment insists on rational, linear thinking and “good” behavior all the time, then these people may never develop their intuitive style..." (emphasis added.)

   Finally freed of part (but not all) of the challenges of ADD it is hard not to wish that a cure had come sooner. But, Dr. Barton suggests that much of my success came from learning to overcome adversity. 

   In any case, I am grateful for the healing experienced thus far. So are the innocent people around me - finally relieved of some of my irritability.

   "You are back to being your best self," one close relative told me. I hope this column helps you  "deliver" someone you know from "distraction."

-Erie Chapman

Days 14-15 We Are The Ones

Note: Reflection by Liz Sorensen Wessel

The recent election has magnified a great chasm that seems to separate us one from another. Collectively as well as individually we bear witness to the best and the worst in ourselves. We live in a time of ambiguity. Conflicting motivations challenge our values resulting in the moral distress of  ethical dilemmas. The immensity of the world's problems makes it tempting to abdicate our responsibility and hide our heads in the sand. Unfortunately, this response has contributed to the current state of our nation.

Each generation is called to persevere to protect a sacred trust; the freedoms of a democracy earned through great sacrifice and passed on to us from our forefathers and mothers. More than ever, we recognize we have been entrusted with a precious gift. Up until now we may have thought others would take care of the issues that confront us. We ask ourselves, what can I do? I am only one person. How can I  make a difference? It is all too much.

We all have differing gifts. The work begins at the center of our core, at the molecular level that has far reaching effects on the whole. We may feel powerless but we are enough, here and now. We are all that is needed.

What are you passionate about? Where does your heart call you? If you are still not sure, listen within and the Holy Spirit, or your inner voice, will guide you.

These words by the late, Margaret Mead still inspire,  “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

That is us friends; it is our turn to step up.

 The Ones We Have Been Waiting For 

You have been telling the people,
That this is the eleventh hour.
Now, you must go and tell the people,
That THIS is the hour,
And there are things to be considered.

Where are you living? What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in the right relationship?
Where is your water?
Know your garden …

It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community,
Be good to each other.
Do not look outside yourself for a leader.

There is a river flowing now very fast,
It is so great and swift.
That there are those who will be afraid,
They will try to hold onto the shore.
They will feel they are being pulled apart,
And will suffer greatly.

Understand that the river knows its destination,
The elders say we must let go of the shore.
Push off into the middle of the river,
Keep our eyes open and our heads above water.

And I say; see who is in there with you,
Hold fast to them and celebrate!

At this time in history,
We are to take nothing personally.
Least of all, ourselves!
For the moment we do,
Our spiritual growth and journey comes to an end.
The time of the Lone Wolf is over!

Gather yourselves!
Banish the word ‘struggle’ from your attitude and vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done,
In a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are all about to go on a journey,
We are the ones we have been waiting for!

-Thomas Banyacya Sr. (1910-1999);
Speaker of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote Clan
Elder of the Hopi Nation

Each and every one of us is needed. We are the ones.

 Liz  Sorensen Wessel

Days 9-13 - The Marriage of Love & Need

   The picture is notable not only for the physician (a Dr. Ceriani) & his patient but for the artist who made the picture. W. Eugene Smith became a legendary photo-journalist. Today his work is prized.

   Art succeeds when the artist strums a universal chord of meaning & beauty. We don't know either caregiver or patient, here. Yet, we do know them.

   This sacred encounter awakens every recollection of our personal participation in the marriage of love & need. 

   Usually a team brings healing (note the supportive hand in the bottom right of the picture.) Frequently, the moments are more intimate. A solitary angel leans to tend to a fallen being. 

   This is the daughter changing the diapers of her dementia-afflicted mother. It is the young father cooling the brow of his fever-ridden son. It is the hospice nurse comforting a dying patient. 

   These are the unheralded hours when compassion & competence flow through the hands of those who live love. Gene Smith captured that: the scar previously sewn, the doctors right hand treating the eye while his left hand steadies his patient's head. 

  Yet, it is the expressions & the language of bodies that most nurture our sense of the majesty & grace of caregiving.

-Erie Chapman

Photograph: "Dr. Ceriani" by W. Eugene Smith, 1948 (rephotographed in window shadows by Erie. From the Museum of Modern Art book, "Looking at Photographs" (1973)

   

Days 7-8 Threshold

Note: shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel

 

Sacred Mystery,
waiting on the threshold 
of this new year,
you open the gates
and beckon to me.

"Come! Come!
Be not fearful of what awaits you
as you enter the unknown terrain,
be not doubtful of your ability
to grow from its joys and sorrows.

For I am with you.
I will be your Guide.
I will be your Protector.
You will never be alone."

Guardian of this new year,
I set aside my fears, worries and concerns,
I open my life to mystery, to beauty,
to hospitality, to questions,
to endless opportunity
of discovering in my relationships,
and to all the silent wisps of wonder
that will draw me to your heart.

I welcome your unfailing Presence
and walk with hope into this new year.

--Joyce Rupp

Photo: Ireland, 2011 ~liz 

Days 2-6 - What Do You See?

   This picture compels an instant question: What is going on? 

   To stay oriented we must find reference points. If we cannot we go "crazy."

   When we wake we must figure out where we are. That is why we frequently forget our dreams.

  This phenomenon can lead to a practice that is discouraging to artists. When most people identify the contents of a canvas they turn away. 

   Once I share the circumstances of this photograph you may think, "Oh, I see" & move on. The artist's dismay is that you miss whatever else a picture has to offer.

   What about the intellectual questions: shape, shadow, form & light? What feelings are provoked? 

   Life pushes speed. Our cell phones hold thousands of snap shots & we make snap judgements hundreds of times a day. 

   The radiologist spots the break in the x-ray. The nurse technician reads a temperature. A Vice President determines the CEO's mood with a glance. 

   These are important decisions. But, art has no "function." By turning away from images too quickly we regularly miss the best life offers.  How does light land in your days & nights? What if you linger longer in another's eyes? What would you notice in the second viewing of a movie?

   The best way to "see" is to engage your sacred heart. Speed is not a part of meaningful encounters. 

-Erie Chapman

Photograph by Erie. The hands are a dry cleaning store mannequin's. Everything else is a reflection.