Journal of Sacred Work

Days 303: A Reflection on Time

A Reflection on Time

A man of extraordinary talents, Erie Chapman is a composer, artist, filmmaker, lover of Beauty, author, attorney, health care leader and visionary. I wish to dedicate this reflection to Reverend Erie Chapman during this Pastoral Week  in appreciation of his significant contributions in the Radical Loving Care movement. This reflection resonates with me because it is aligned with the essence of Erie's beneficent magnificence.

“One day it occurred to a certain emperor that if he only knew the answers to three questions, he would never stray in any matter: What is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?

These are the opening lines to Leo Tolstoy’s short story The Emperor’s Three Questions. After seeking advice and answers of many counselors in his court, the emperor embarks upon a journey to the mountains to visit a wise hermit. Tolstoy tells of the emperor’s near misses with harm, his interactions with other travels, his ministry to a wounded man and an experience of reconciliation all along the way. In the end the hermit shares a bit of wisdom that many spiritual and pastoral care professionals intuitively know.

"Remember that there is only one important time and that is now.  The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.  The most important person is always the person you are with, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future?  The most important pursuit is making the person standing at your side happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life."

Hospitality as the cultivation of time is the theme for this year’s spiritual care week and resonates deeply with the values faith-based health ministry. We are called to emulate the hospitality of God who is fully present to us in all times and all places; paradoxically living in a specific time and place in the person of Jesus as well as existing outside of time.

When we are hospitable to others we accept them in their concrete realities and attend to their physical, emotional and spiritual needs in such a way that transcends the everyday. When we have been truly welcomed, whether it be in a momentary interaction or an hour-long visit we find ourselves outside of the grind of the clock and in the timelessness of grace.

God of all graciousness,
You bestow the gift of time upon each of us in our own measure.
Guide us to use the time given to us in your service.
Open our eyes to the graces, hidden and explicit, in each moment.
May we always see you in the person standing before us and offer our wonder and welcome to the mystery of you in them.
We pray all this, trusting in your time and your seasons of love.
Amen.

Please join with me in wishing Erie a Happy Birthday. Erie may you be abundantly blessed and steeped in loving hospitality in every moment. 

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel 

Reflection offered by Catholic Health Association

Days 301-305 - "Tell of the storm-tossed man..."

   In 1957 I picked up a coral-pink book whose title appeared only on its spine &, feeling important, inscribed my full name. The Odyssey of Homer opens:  "Tell of the storm-tossed man, O Muse, who wandered long after he sacked the sacred citadel of Troy."

   Mrs. Emerson put this ancient volume before our 8th grade class & we learned that Odysseus' (Ulysses in the Roman version) journey was not only "storm-tossed" but populated with one-eyed monsters, Sirens who seduced listeners to their deaths & Lotus-Eaters offering the fruit of forgetfulness. 

   At Jesus' birth, the story was 800 years old!

   Stories precede civilization. Odysseys fascinate because each mixes threats with joys. 

   Consider the monsters & angels you have encountered across your odyssey?

   Risk-oriented, my life has been storm-tossed. People have often asked: Why not take the safer route? 

   Some "life callings" force striving.  Sixty-one years after picking up Homer's book I know my journey is near ending.

   But, Tennyson put the right words into Ulysses's mouth & my heart: "Come now, friends, 'tis not too late to seek a newer world."  Time to further engage hard-won learning to craft meaning beyond the status quo. Something that enriches beauty, light & love & a sense that the journey has illuminated eternity's path.

- Erie Chapman   

Days 299-300 1914

I grew up in the house my dad was raised in. Story told, he was an only child and was born prematurely. A baby weighing a mere 3 lbs., he was so tiny that his mother carried him on a pillow. Eventually my dad grew into an impressive 6’2” handsome physique.  Years later when I visited Denmark, I discovered that the house my grandfather built was very similar to the architecture in Copenhagen.

Back then, the family tradition was to adorn the Christmas tree with white candles that flickered and shimmered silent movies on the walls. After holiday festivities, the small live evergreen was planted in the front side yard and just as my grandparents marked my dad’s growth with a pencil line on the door frame, the tree marked the passage of time eventually growing giant enough to shade our two-story house.   

My grandparents died at relatively young ages and within six months of each other. My parents were on their honeymoon when the dreaded call came that Svea had died and they returned home right away.

Never having met my grandparents but living in their home, I was very curious about all of the tell-tale signs of their existence.  The antiqued singer sewing machine, the curio cabinet that contained a small red metal tin with dried rose petals and four-leaf clovers that Svea collected on her walks with a yellowed newspaper clipped poem that spoke of love. Their photos on the living room wall and a lovely pearl broach tucked away in my dad’s desk draw.

A stained-glass shade, once a table lamp minus its base, wound up converted into a functional ceiling light. She hung unimaginatively from the front porch ceiling.  Yet, even though perched in such an undignified pose, her loveliness could not be concealed. The way the light illuminated a scene of dark silhouetted trees amid pastel hues of sky captivated the eye, even upside down and inverted. (Perhaps it was the only safe place in a house with six children.)

Years later, the lamp traveled with our family to a new homestead in Vermont. My brother, Tom returned Miss Tiffany to her original beauty by placing her upright in a prominent place on the dining room table. History confirms that she was born in 1914 and although not a Tiffany lamp her name suits her well. She holds a very special place in the hearts of our family as she somehow connects us with our family history and to the grandparents I never met but feel that I know, and they me, and that I  am loved by them, and love them. Such is the mystery and infinite nature of unconditional love.

We carry our family history within us. As caregivers we can bear witness and listen to the sacredness of life as our patients reminisce and share stories that shine through in glimmers of vibrant color or soft hues to reflect the Beauty and mutual unfolding of our glorious and most precious lives.

Reflection by Liz Sorensen Wessel

Watercolor by ~liz

Days 294-298 - The Caregivers Magic Wand

 

  Dazzled by my four-year old granddaughter I noticed that she, in turn, was dazzled by how her wand sparkles in the picture.

   "I want a magic wand like that!" she said, as she stared at the moving image.  We all do. 

   To us this is just a computer gimmick. Yet, every four-year old believes in magic. Caroline does not wonder if Tinkerbell can fly. She knows that she can. 

   Shortly, she will join the endless list of doubters. "Watch out for tricks," older kids will tell her. 

   We need healthy skepticism. Life success requires analysis & experience to sort earth's realities.

   But, cynicism is a darker thing. Cynics fear being tricked the way they were as children so they distrust everything. Thus, they squander their priceless ability to spread hope. 

   Todd Meador, Minton Sparks & I see cynics at work when we introduce Radical Loving Care in hospitals. Cynics wince when we discuss the magic caregivers possesses. They scoff at the healing power of loving words & the idea that leader's affirmations impact caregiver's energy.

   Did Caroline's wand brighten your day? Can you practice the same magic? 

-Erie Chapman   

Photo-motion by Erie  

Days 292-293 Vermont Twilight

Twilight is an enchanting space of neither day or night but an in between space of light and darkness. She offers us an invitation to pause as sun disappears behind the curvature of mountain's strength. Especially lovely, is how light mingles with night,  shifts and flows,  softening into her quiet and accepting way. 

Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life    

                                                   ~Martha Postelwaite

I so need to create space in my life. How about you? Where do you find the solace to rest in Love? 

If you are receptive to learning more about the sacred pause and how "we can rediscover the presence and mystery, beauty and love that makes life meaningful." Visit:   https://www.tarabrach.com/

Reflection offered by Liz Sorensen Wessel
Watercolor by ~liz

Days 287 - Are We Gifts from God?

   "What do you think you are, God's gift to women?" one male comedian said to another in a sketch I heard decades ago. The audience laughed.

   But, I wondered if each of us is, in fact, a gift from God to the world.

   If you believe, as do I, that we are all children of God then we are all children of Love. This truth triggers lovely ideas:

   How have you unwrapped your gift of living water & let it flow into the lives of others? What loving kindnesses have you brought to fellow children of God, whether or not they seemed like such offspring at the time? 

   Imagine the potential you have, the gold that lives in you & how you might pay it to others this very day? What a remarkable kind of gold this is. The more you give away the more comes back to you.

   If you have never seen yourself as a gift from God consider that now. The moment you do your life will change. So will that of those around you.

-Reverend Erie Chapman

Days 282-286 - Your Truest Voice

   In the late 1940s & early '50s (around the time of this photograph) I attended Warner Avenue Elementary School with Frank Sinatra, Jr. What a lucky fellow he seemed to be - already basking in his father's huge celebrity. 

   Yet, Frank, Jr. chose a career that turned so heavily on mimicking his dad's voice that he never found his own. Instead, he performed before audiences who asked themselves one question: "How much does Frankie sound like Daddy?" 

   The greatest value of an audience is to help artists find their truth. Is the performer speaking a unique verity that resonates? Or is the artist mimicking some other genius?

   Nashville, like Hollywood, is filled with imitators. For every million there is one Taylor Swift or Johnny Cash.

   Tucked inside that million are other unique voices - artists telling unheard truths. The satisfaction for them (cold comfort if they seek fame) is to know that, in Parker Palmer's words, they have "let their life speak."

   Few can be famous. All of us can speak who we are. For caregivers, the audience is each patient. When caregivers engage their honest compassion & their highest competence they engage healing beyond curing. They do sacred work. 

-Erie Chapman