Journal of Sacred Work

Days 57-61 - First Leaf

   The appearance of a Sweet Bay leaf in February is a symbol of a southern joy - early springs.

   Lifeless remnants of last autumn litter the ivy below her new green shape.

   Hospitals are homes of both first & final days. One way we reinforced the sacredness of caregiving at Baptist Hospital in the late '90s was to point this out - that each day at Baptist marked the first day on earth for fifteen people and the last day on earth for two people. 

    Yes. In that large hospital, the statistics were that an average of fifteen babies were born each day & two patients died. 

   But what caregiver finds meaning in mere numbers? Why would anyone want to deliver Radical Loving Care if sick people are just statistics?

   To know that caregivers work in a setting where people begin & end their lives reinforces our mission to meet need with love. To understand that the people in our care may enter their darkest hours while with us is to transform a job into a calling. 

-Erie Chapman

Days 55-56 It's A Sin to Kill A Mockingbird

Two sticks of gum, a ball of twine, an old school medal, a pocket watch, and two soap carvings of a curious boy and girl. All mysterious treasures left and meant to be found in the knothole of a grand tree by Scout and Jem Finch. 

When I drew this tree, I thought of those kids and endless summers fraught with adventure, of friends in collusion with inquisitive natures, double dares, and glorious mischief as life’s dramas unfolded around them.

I recalled autumns turning gold with nostalgia, the anticipation, angst and excitment of resuming school days, of costumes and plays. In my mind's eye, I could see the Finch family missing the tender touch of a mother's caress, the necessary support of a wife, the loneliness of a lost love. I admired the father whose gentle strength nurtured his children with wisdom and care.

The story provides an intricate look into a community in the 1930’s in Maycomb County, Alabama. Here we bear witness to the poignancy of opposing forces as the dark scourge of racism condemns the life of an innocent man. We watch the struggle as Atticus stands up to defend a good and decent man and to do what is right. We are aware of the risk he takes, while a vile and brutal hate tragically takes the life of Tom Robinson.

 Atticus’s bold action placed his children in perilous danger. Miraculously, Boo Radley is drawn out from the shadows to protect and save the Finch children from grave harm. Boo was an outcast, labeled as crazy, yet that night he revealed his true nature. Even amidst turmoil and heartache there is a redemptive power in Love.

It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. 

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Old Oak Tree by ~liz

Days 50-54 - The Curse of the Radar Dodgers

    It sounds like a Sherlock Holmes story. Indeed, the people I call "radar dodgers" hope they can wrap themselves in the mystery of anonymity & thus save their jobs.

   These are those fellow employees who, in spite of their mediocrity, have dodged every layoff, weaved around every average review & hung in there while other, more capable staff have been "hung."

  To be a good radar dodger you must practice their tricks. The top skill? Blame others while shirking responsibility. Some have become Olympians at this.

   Bud won gold. He was among the first leaders I met when I entered the executive ranks at Toledo's Riverside Hospital in 1975. After seven years as a trial lawyer I was brand new in healthcare & was seeking tips. Bud had many. 

   "Keep your head down, Erie," he told me. "Otherwise it'll get shot off."    

   Another Bud-Tip, "If ain't broke, don't fix it."

   I asked him once why one of his departments was underperforming. "That's Jane's fault," he said. "She's the Queen of Average."

   When I looked surprised he hit me with another tip? "Don't make waves. She's been here eight years & will retire at ten after she qualifies for her pension. That problem will solve itself."

   When I asked the CEO about Bud he paused for a second as if trying to remember him. Bud had dodged the bosses' radar!

   When I became CEO Bud was one of the first directors I let go. "What have I done wrong?" he asked.

   "Nothing," I said. "You love average. We need excellence."

  Radar dodgers hate excellence. Patients love it.

-Erie Chapman    

Days 48-49 Joie de Vivre (Joy of Living)

My first impression of her was dislike, why? Who can recall after 50+ years but I never would have guessed that Sue and I would become best friends in 4th grade, inseparable; joined at the hip. We spent a great deal of time at each other’s homes and even though we have lived on opposite ends of the country, we have remained close in heart through all these years. So many memories of our coming of age, more vivid are those early days than in all the years that followed.

As Providence would have it our mothers were both born on February 17 and so this date holds a very special meaning for both of us and our moms were very fond of one another.

Susan’s mom, Candi (left) was vivacious, beautiful and loving. I thought
 of her as my second mom. My mom, Lee, short for Elizabeth (right), had a pure and gentle heart overflowing with Irish hospitality and because of her I knew what it meant to be loved.

At age 15, my world seemed to shatter. My dad lost his job after 33 years at King Features Syndicate in Manhattan. We moved to Brattleboro Vermont and our family split apart with four of my older siblings choosing to stay behind.  It seemed as though Sue and I were being ripped from each other’s arms when we made our sacred pact. When we turned 18, no one could stop us. We would get back together and travel.

We worked and saved our money to purchase a Volkswagen and as promised, at age 18,  we set off on an unchartered adventure that led us across country and eventually all the way to Guatemala. We camped at KOA camps, ate peanut butter and honey sandwiches and encountered life while making friends all along the way. 

Susan's essence is the epitome of her mom, outgoing, fun loving and a dear friend to everyone she meets. She remembers everyone by name and people feel seen, known and loved for who they are in her presence. I hope I share in my mom's essence for her love of family and friends and her gentle caring nature. 

All these years through thick and thin Sue and I have remained close friends and are part of each other’s, “La Familia.”  Some unusual circumstances… my sister Pat, was dating a young man, Bob she met while working at Korvette’s department store. To our surprise, Bob turned out to be Susan’s cousin, (their fathers were brothers) and my sister’s future husband. Therefore, Susan’s cousins are my niece and nephews!

I came to love living in Vermont and the friends who embraced me. Since Bob was Susan's cousin her parents let her acompany Bob and my sister for weekend visits.

When Woody and I were married, Susan, her family and Candi came across country in a mobile home to attend the celebration. They picked up Barbara Pica, our dear childhood friend in Oregon and drove to S. CA. Along the way Barbara played her flute and Susan guitar as they practiced the wedding song to perform at the ceremony.

On a very sad twist of fate, my eldest brother Phillip was killed in a car accident 9/24/1977, the morning of Susan’s wedding and I was to be her maid of honor. Susan’s mom said, “Maybe Liz will still be in your wedding.” I had not even considered that possibility but I was able to find the courage through Candi’s faith in me.

My brother Johnny died on Nov 1, 2008 shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. It was All Saint’s Day and Susan’s birthday. During his illness Johnny was at Westchester Hospital and while inpatient, I kept him company from early morning to late evening and then slept at Susan’s house each night, which happened to be located just around the corner. Her hospitality and support were such a great comfort.

As with the Yin and Yang of life, our lives have been intricately intertwined as if by fate. We have experienced the joys and heartaches of life. Enjoyed the abundant richness that life offers and deeply mourned our loved ones whose presence we miss.

Today we celebrate the life of two vibrant souls; Candi Maio and Lee Sorensen and although our mothers are no longer on this earthly realm, their loving essence continues to shine brightly, encouraging us to fully embrace the joie de vivre as their legacy and beautiful essence of their  unconditional LOVE into infinity and beyond.

Liz Sorensen Wessel

Days 43-47 - You Are Enough

   We want THE answer in the fewest words. Here are three: You are enough. 

   We need experience & reflection to understand how powerful those three words are.

   Rumi writes:

I must have been incredibly simple or drunk or insane
to sneak into my own house and steal money,
to climb over the fence and take my own vegetables.
But no more. I've gotten free of that ignorant fist
that was pinching and twisting my secret self.

The universe and the light of the stars come through me.
I am the crescent moon put up
over the gate to the festival.

   We think we are not enough. That is why Rumi accuses himself of breaking "into my own house [to] steal money."

   Whenever I accuse myself of unworthiness I am "...twisting my secret self."

   Have you done that? Time to pay yourself back, to recognize that you are enough. You are the child flung into the air by your loving father & you are also the father & you are the daughter & the mother & the caregiver.

   You are "the crescent moon put up/ over the gate to the festival."

   Welcome. 

-Erie Chapman

Chapman family photograph by Erie 

Days 41-42 Divine Love

 

 

All shall be well,

and all shall be well,

and all manner of thing shall be well…

 

for there is a Force of love

moving through the universe

that holds us fast

and will never let us go.

 

~Julian of Norwich

 

 

 

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel 
Pencil drawing by ~liz

 

Days 36-40 - The Harmonic Cosmos

   When Einstein encountered roadblocks while developing his theory of relativity he would  trade his pencil for a violin. He did this, he said, "to reconnect with the harmonies of the cosmos."  

   Scientists explain rainbows. Artists paint them.

   Gladly, we do not have to be geniuses to understand this idea & how to apply it. Everyone has hit resistance while trying to solve problems. 

   The moment we forget a name we start struggling. The tension created interrupts the harmony the mind needs to deliver the answer. That is why the name comes when we let go. 

   Einstein engaged the approach more broadly. Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Einstein knew that science & art are married & that to divorce them disturbs the best energies of each.

   Caregiving engages science to cure. Art offers different harmonies. Radical Loving Care is a theory of caregiving. It posits that healing is grounded in God's love. Thus healing flows when  science & art join to connect "the harmonies of the cosmos."

-Erie Chapman

Photograph by Erie

Days 34-35 When You Awaken

Note: offered by Liz Sorensen Wessel

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am diamonds that glint on snow.

I am sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush of butterflies in joyous flight.

-unknown

Watercolor by ~liz