Journal of Sacred Work

"The Undressing" - Days 182 to 189

There is a brilliant poet out there unknown to me until Jill Webb shared his work. He is Li-Young Lee.

We count on love "prevailing." Yet, if we live life with passion, we are sure to entertain doubts just as Mother Teresa doubted God. 

For caregivers, the important thing is that no patient's body is simply "...a tree/ in which lived a bird." The beauty of Lee's writing saves our hearts from slowly turning to stone & our work shifting from momentous to meaningless. 

As I often write, far to many miss out on poetry's power for fear they "Won't get it" or "It's too confusing."

The final stanzas of "The Undressing", are a pearl necklace of words strung by a genius: 

If love doesn’t prevail,
who wants to live in this world?
Are you listening?

You thought my body was a tree
in which lived a bird. But now,
can’t you see flocks alive in this blazing foliage?
Blue throngs, gold multitudes, and pale congregations.
And each member flits from branch to living branch.
Each is singing at different amplitudes and frequencies.
Each is speaking secrets that will ripen into sentence.
And their voices fan my fragrant smoldering.
Disclosing the indestructible body of law.
Ratifying ancient covenants. Establishing new cities.
And their notes time the budding
of your own flowering.
Die now. And climb up into this burning.

Thank you, Mr. Lee.

-Erie Chapman

Days 177-178 Encouragement

When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.

 There are times of great uncertainty in every life. Left alone at such a time, you feel dishevelment and confusion like gravity.

When a friend comes with words of encouragement, a light and lightness visit you and you begin to find the stairs and the door out of the dark.

The sense of encouragement you feel from the friend is not simply her words or gestures; it is rather her whole presence enfolding you and helping you find the concealed door.

The encouraging presence manages to understand you and put herself in your shoes.

There is no judgement but words of relief and release.

~John O'Donohue (excerpt from Eternal Echos

 

 Each day is a gift and I am increasingly grateful for the people in my life, my family, friends, colleagues and community who offer encouragement, friendship and comeradery. This makes all the difference and with even the simplest gesture of caring, we bring light and love into one anothers lives!

We are loved, we are beloved, we are love...

Liz Wessel

Photo: my boys lovin' stray kittens

Days 169-170 Our Father

“The longer we live/The more of your presence/ We, find laid down, Weave upon weave/Within our lives.” -John O’ Donohue

As Father’s Day approaches images surface; weaving's of our fathers lives intertwined with ours; yours and mine, of fathers beloved, of those who went missing and of the generous souls who stepped in to offer wisdom and guidance along the way.

There are happy memories, and sad goodbyes, poignant life lessons, and perhaps a few misgivings that beg forgiveness.

Life begins as a small seed that travels the distance so that we may have life, such is love’s longing. All movement is toward Light. Just as a sapling grows and sprouts through earth reaching for the sun, a baby pushes forth from a mother’s womb towards the light of day. This is the miraculous intelligent design of love.

All movement comes full circle, our stories are passed on from a father to child, and on to their children and their children’s, children. If not in words, then through every cell in our body, in our heart’s beating and our blood pulsing, circulating to nourish us.

I know an exuberant father to be for the first time and I am aware of orphaned children longing to be held. Some of us have experienced the great care of a loving father and still others are neglected and abused.

Whatever our circumstance in life, the privileges life affords and hardships that befall us, the caring we give and receive amidst a world that is in desperate need of healing, it helps to remember that Love is in the midst of it all that is.

In times of enormous tragedy, love springs forth in solidarity. Love manifests through us when we are receptive conduits of Love’s energy. Love asks us to show up, grow up, and become as a Father who lives for the common good of all.

 OUR FATHER offers unconditional love and in celebration of all Fathers, I offer this reflection credited to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Hershel.

“Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart. Our goal should be to live in radical amazement, get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted.

Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be surprised.

Prayer begins on the edge of emptiness. Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge. Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy. We can never sneer at the stars, mock the dawn or scoff at the totality of being.

Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no {or yes} to oneself. The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose of prayer is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of a prayer is a song.

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old I admire kind people. Know that every deed counts, that every word has power…Above all, remember that you must build your life as if it were a work of Art.” -Rabbi Abraham Joshua Hershel

Because it is and you are, Blessed Father’s Day!

Deep appreciation to Erie Chapman who fathered the Journal of Sacred Work! This is the 16 year anniversary since the inception on June 7, 2006! Erie, you have shared your artistic creativity, wisdom, heart and soul so generously on these pages as a well spring for caregivers. Your constirbutions to changing the landscape of healthcare are monumental and can not be underscored. Throughout your dedicated service and visionary leadership you pioneered Radical Loving Care. You have mentored and guided countless leaders to trnasform the culture of healthcare. We are indeed grateful!

With love and gratitude for our Fathers!

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Photo/Birdsong image by ~liz

Still Learning - Days 164-168

   Our earliest "graduations" are clearly defined steps we climb.  Starting as early as nursery school adults hand out certificates authorizing our travel to the next stage. 

    What lives at the top of the staircase? The steps we climb & how we ascend them answer part of that question. 

   Of course, each level becomes increasingly challenging. No one can practice nursing without certifications. No one can practice medicine without degrees & licenses. 

   These transitions, like my oldest grandson's high school graduation, are products of civilization. Miles (pictured) has climbed this stage so well that he has been accepted into the country's most selective university. 

   Every time we reach a new height we find ourselves yearning for the next. Higher levels of competency forever beckon the ambitious. 

   Instant proof appeared while I was writing this. My youngest grandson, siting beside me on the sofa, began struggling with a toy. "I wanna be six so I can fix this," he said. He is four. 

   When do we know we have climbed enough stairs & it is time to rest? Michelangelo answered with his last words: "I am still learning."

-Erie Chapman

Photograph by Erie.

Days 162-163 I've Got this Covered!

If I could talk to myself twenty years ago, I would tell myself to focus on my strengths, and not on my weaknesses; on the things I could do and not the things I couldn’t do; to strive to excel and hone those skills to the point of excellence. That this was the best strategy to secure my future. I would say to myself that the only real obstacles you have are those you create for yourself.

~Mariam Parés

Parés thoughts resonate with me because we all have that inner critic and when self-doubt creeps in, I recognize how important it is to be aware of the stories we can tell ourselves based on past experiences and inferences we make that may feel real but are not necessarily true.

 I am also very heartened by what science is telling us about mindfulness practices and how we can retrain our brains. This awareness is  particularly helpful when I notice that critical voice rising up, I can respond with kindness and say,  “thank you friend, I know you mean well…with your admonishing words, however, I am a person of strength, encouragement and gratefulness … and I’ve got this covered!”

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ~Rumi

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Mandala by ~liz

You Are Your Character - Days 157-161

   At 13, I joined millions in reading, Profiles in Courage, by John F. Kennedy & Ted Sorenson. The premise was universal & inspiring: Stick with your principles even if you offend others.

   Naively, I wondered why everyone would not d0 that. As Richard Bach wrote, “Reputation is what people think you are. Character is who you really are."

   Real life is reversed. Most choose popularity & promotion over character. Consider politicians who took logical positions to ban assault weapons & flipped because a crowd booed. 

   When Peter Drucker wrote: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" he meant successful plans face tough going against cultural opposition. The best leaders persist. 

    Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi & Susan B. Anthony anchored their character to buck popular opinion. Each one suffered.

    Too few are the caregivers who paint portraits in courage by refusing doctor's orders they know are wrong & by staff brave enough to report bosses for illegal or unethical behavior.

   It is tough to practice Radical Loving Care^® in the face of certain policies. Awhile back a husband drove to a large-hospital ER. His RN wife was so stricken with chest pain he could not lift her through the door. A nurse grabbed a wheelchair.

   "No, wheelchairs outside the ER entrance!" a manager shouted. 

   Ignoring her, the nurse served the patient. Facing a write-up, the nurse said, "I did what I knew was right."

   We need to know where to draw the line & how to be diplomatic & firm. But how often have we gone along to get ahead & felt pieces of our souls breaking off & floating away?  

-Erie Chapman 

To support this Journal visit: www.eriechapmanfoundation.net . THANK YOU!

Days 155-156 Sacred Rage

I’ve heard our nation's gun violence epidemic described as Groundhog Day. Yet, the escalating, massacres that are unfolding every day are not only a repeating but worsening beyond belief.  How do we break the cycle of violence?  

David Brooks shared an interesting perspective on PBS News Hour (June 3, 2022) and how the polarization of politics has led to a sense of being part of a tribe within the Republican party. When you are part of a tribe there is unquestionable loyalty. Therefore, although the majority of Americans are in support of gun safety legislation, members of congress do not step out in support gun control meaures due to fears of being banished. For example, when a former Colorado legislator put forth a bill to enact improved gun safety in response to a shooting in his community, gun rights groups came out and blasted him for it. Ultimately, the bill did not pass and he did not run for re-election.

When working to approach a middle ground to address this evolving catastrophic, paralytic dysfunction one must first, as President Biden stated in his address this week, honor a person’s right to gun ownership. Perhaps by reframing the issue in this way can offer a glimmer of hope.

Brooks stressed the need to distinguish between defensive gun ownership to protect one’s family versus offensive gun violence and the availability of military grade semi-automatic weapons sole funtion is to kill large groups of people. Handguns are the most common firearm used in mass shootings, but semi-automatic rifles were used in four of the five deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

We have turned these weapons upon our own children!

It is apparent to me that we can no longer leave this up to legislators. Each of us need to do our part, vote, march, pray, scream our sacred rage from the rooftops, take a stand. Will we respond or fall back into complacency? This is the question that weighs heavy on my heart. How will I respond?

“It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”  Anne Frank

I leave you with a blessing from Jan Richardson

 

Blessing in a Time of Violence

Which is to say
this blessing
is always.

Which is to say
there is no place
this blessing
does not long
to cry out
in lament,
to weep its words
in sorrow,
to scream its lines
in sacred rage.

Which is to say
there is no day
this blessing ceases
to whisper
into the ear
of the dying,
the despairing,
the terrified.

Which is to say
there is no moment
this blessing refuses
to sing itself
into the heart
of the hated
and the hateful,
the victim
and the victimizer,
with every last
ounce of hope
it has.

Which is to say
there is none
that can stop it,
none that can
halt its course,
none that will
still its cadence,
none that will
delay its rising,
none that can keep it
from springing forth
from the mouths of us
who hope,
from the hands of us
who act,
from the hearts of us
who love,
from the feet of us
who will not cease
our stubborn, aching
marching, marching

until this blessing
has spoken
its final word,
until this blessing
has breathed
its benediction
in every place,
in every tongue:

Peace.
Peace.
Peace.

— Jan Richardson

 © Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com.

May you know the deep love of the One who hung every star in the sky, and indeed breathed whole galaxies into being. As you go through this day, may your breath be a reminder that you are known, held, and loved. May your laughter be a balm and may your every tear be collected in the palm of a merciful God who calls you beloved. – Kayla Craig

 Liz Sorensen Wessel
Artwork by ~liz