Journal of Sacred Work

National Home Care & Hospice Month: Days 287-288

National Home Care and Hospice Month is a time to honor the dedicated, compassionate caregivers who make a significant difference in the lives of clients, patients and the families in the communities they serve. We wish to recognize nurses, clinicians, therapists, social workers, chaplains, volunteers, aides, companions, servant leaders, and all home care professionals who assist our most frail and vulnerable among us to remain at home and in the community.

Part of the month-long celebration is Home Care Aide Week (November 10 through 16) to highlight the contributions of home health aides, and personal care aides – Their compassion in caring for those who are sick, frail, chronically ill or recovering from an illness is invaluable.

Equally important to note is the role Home Care plays in the long-term care continuum through the avoidance of unnecessary use of the emergency room, hospitalizations and nursing home placement. These reductions in the use of institutional services decreases the cost of healthcare and relieves an overburdened system of care.

Val J. Halamandaris, the President of the National Association of Home Care (NACH) shared these thoughts, “It is highly appropriate that we celebrate the nurses, therapists, aides, and other providers who choose to use their lives to serve our country’s aged, disabled, and dying. No work is nobler, and no group is more deserving of our respect and admiration. Their goal is helping society’s weakest members live the fullest lives they can. By marrying high tech with high touch, home care professionals and volunteers allow patients to get care at home where they can be with the ones they love.”

This year’s theme is “Home Care and Hospice Deliver Freedom,” with NAHC planning to release new studies in the coming weeks that showcase the increasing role of home care and hospice in health care. “Whether it is dollars spent or miles driven, the value of home care and hospice is immeasurable,” according to the NAHC.

"Know me, Care for me, Ease my way."  (Providence St. Joseph Health Promise)

Dear Caregivers,

Thank you for the extraordinary way, you know, care for, and ease the way for all those we serve and one another through your personal interactions and connections. Living our promise, in your own unique and irreplaceable way, keeps us focused and reminds us of what matters most. You have been steadfast throughout all the changes, challenges and difficulties faced throughout the pandemic and beyond. You are the ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light for the world ’sharing of your gifts, talents, skills, and love so generously. You are beloved and precious beyond measure!

You may never know the far-reaching impact of your loving service that continues to ripple out in beautiful ways…
However, those whose lives you have touched will never forget you!

With Deepest Gratitude and Love,
Liz Sorensen Wessel

"Come here if you want to find me..." Days 282-286

My camera has always been with me. On a cool evening in 1977 I walked into a nearby field to capture yet another sunset. The beauty was so unbearable my old enemy Melancholy appeared. I changed into my skin & sought God's relief. When it arrived, I wondered, "How do you photograph self comfort?" & made this picture. Forty-five years later I offer it to you with these verses (#26) from the The Radiance Sutras. (italics added.)

The One Who Is at Play Everywhere says,

There is a space in the heart where everything meets.
Come here if you want to find me.
Mind, senses, soul, eternity--all are here.
Are you here?

Enter the bowl of vastness that is the heart.
Listen to the song that is always resonating.
Give yourself to it with total abandon.
Quiet ecstasy is here,
And a steady, regal sense
Of resting in a perfect spot.
You who are the embodiment of blessing,
Once you know the way,
The nature of attention will call you to return.
Again and again, answer that call,
And be saturated with knowing,
"I belong here, I am at home."

Are we alone? Listen as "quiet ecstasy" whispers, "Come here if you want to find me."

-Erie Chapman

"Self Comfort" Double Self Portrait, Erie Chapman, 1978 

 

 

 

 

Thresholds: Days 280-281

I offer these thoughts on thresholds from the late John O'Donohue. It seems our world is in a state of great change and challenge, uncertainty and distress, not only on a global level but in a very personal manner within our own spheres of influence. I hope O'Donohue's wisdom might speak to your heart on this day, enveloping you within the grace that informs a blessing.

To acknowledge and cross a new threshold is always a challenge. It demands courage and also a sense of trust in whatever is emerging. This becomes essential when a threshold opens suddenly in front of you, one for which you had no preparation. This could be illness, suffering or loss. Because we are so engaged with the world, we usually forget how fragile life can be and how vulnerable we always are. It takes only a couple of seconds for a life to change irreversibly. Suddenly you stand on completely strange ground and a new course of life has to be embraced. Especially at such times we desperately need blessing and protection. You look back at the life you have lived up to a few hours before, and it suddenly seems so far away. Think for a moment how, across the world, someone’s life has just changed – irrevocably, permanently, and not necessarily for the better – and everything that was once so steady, so reliable, must now find a new way of unfolding.

Though we know one another’s names and recognize one another’s faces, we never know what destiny shapes each life. The script of individual destiny is secret; it is hidden behind and beneath the sequence of happenings that is continually unfolding for us. Each life is a mystery that is never finally available to the mind’s light or questions. That we are here is a huge affirmation; somehow life needed us and wanted us to be. To sense and trust this primeval acceptance can open a vast spring of trust within the heart. It can free us into a natural courage that casts out fear and opens up our lives to become voyages of discovery, creativity, and compassion. No threshold need be a threat, but rather an invitation and a promise.

Whatever comes, the great sacrament of life will remain faithful to us, blessing us always with visible signs of invisible grace. We merely need to trust.

— From To Bless the Space Between Us, by John O’ Donohue

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Photography by Chrissy Maio (my talented niece)

FINGERTIPS - Day 280

   Time to clear leaves before a patio gathering.

   No, upon lifting the leaf blower, previously used by another, I did not notice that the bottom cover (over the blades) had fallen off. 

   At the push of a button the leaf blower was a lion awakened; the leaves, startled chipmunks running for cover. I felt boyhood joy wielding this machine. 

   Then it happened. The blower ambushed me.

   One hundred percent of us say the same thing after an accident, "It all happened so fast!" Obviously, no sudden strike = no accident!

   Great luck that the blower's blades, spinning a thousand times a second, were rubber, not steel. Had it been the latter, I would be missing the tip of the little finger on my left hand.

   That fingertip, though still throbbing, will be fine save one thing: Loss of feeling. Hardly life-threatening. Yet, every story tells us more than what happened.  

   There is nothing that focuses the mind on the body it occupies more than a sudden injury. Indeed, is not it odd that a sharp blow to a tiny part of us causes pain to every part of us?

   Any injury is among the "thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to," as Shakespeare says through Hamlet's immortal "To be, or not to be" soliloquy. 

   Most value sight and hearing above touch, taste, smell. Fingertips symbolize touch. Imagine ten numb fingertips. 

   My throbbing fingertip reminds me to be grateful for something: his nine healthy brothers typing away right now on the keyboard of this computer.

-Erie Chapman  

Days 278-279 - When All Seems Difficult

[Editor's Note: Since our regular weekend contributor, Liz Wessel, is on vacation this weekend, Dr. Terry Chapman has graciously submitted a reflection to enrich your life. His image of a tree set afire by autumn in New England is encouraging to most and can challenge some who face Seasonable Adjustive Disorder. Thank you for this support, Terry.] 

Sometimes, often at the end of my day's errands, pondering real and imagined problems, I find it hard to be positive. My situation offers no viable improvement strategy. What to do?

As caregivers, we are also self caregivers, so rally we must by various means such as hot mugs of my favorite hot chocolate, egg and cheese sandwich on really good bread, yoga stretches and if I fall asleep, so much the better! Taking long leisurely walks, now as leaves turn to vivid colors, is a comfort too.

Try talking with a close friend candidly, about how you feel, and be sure to actively listen to what they say on your behalf! Do not try to put on a happy face; rather gradually improve your outlook one step at a time.

Think of your unique God given gifts, abilities, and strong attributes that have enabled you to provide caregiving on your journey so far and move forward toward your major goals!

If this fails to help, seek the professional help of your primary physician, clergy, and counselors.

-Terry Chapman, PhD.

Photograph by Terry, 2022

For 16 years the Journal has been offered to you as a free service by the non-profit Erie Chapman Foundation, a charity supporting Radical Loving Care® in healthcare & the arts. If this Journal is helpful to you, we hope you will consider contributing $5. Go to  https://www.eriechapmanfoundation.net & click on the "Donate" button. THANK YOU. 

The Two Most Important Words - Days 273-277

I. 

   No need to write about Ukraine. You know that story & others write it better. One thing, however, defines why Ukraine is succeeding.

  Much as they help, it is not foreign weapons & food. Russians have that too. This other "food" provides the magic that enables "weak" to best strong.  

   Old as humanity, this energy flows when people fight for homeland. This delivers word #1: Meaning. We often write about it here yet most dismiss its power. 

   Meaning is not always enough. But it remains Victory's most crucial food, especially combined with peak performance.

   Depression always steals hope & its energy. Russian soldiers are depressed. 

II.

   Meaning requires actually doing something. The other crucial word appears call for the opposite. 

   How do you do "being?" One choice that helps doers is learning that "being" energy requires training us away from doing energy. The soul (& body) need a rest. That is why to sleep requires letting go. 

   Awake, meditation is a choice. When I learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) in 1975 I discovered how it aids "letting go."

   Some say, "I tried & tried but it didn't work." No wonder.

   The whole deal is not to try. All you do is: 1) close eyes. 2) Repeat "nonsense" sound. A mantra. The idea with the mantra is to divert frenetic thinking away from anxiety-causing thoughts. It works!

   My problem is underestimating TM's impact & stumbling on step one. "Not now," I tell myself, "I've got too much to do!" 

   There are other ways to "be." When I practice meditation, I become much better at living my versions of being & meaning. 

   Meaning & Being. Now, if could just let go of my classic "doer" approach, maybe I could get myself to sit still for twenty minutes twice a day to meditate!

-Erie Chapman

Film Art: "The Sea of Doing & Being" Erie Chapman 2016

"Do Your Little Bit of Good Where You Are." Days 271-272

As some may be aware, recently I’ve been navigating the health care across the continuum of care with a friend in need of support. It is a somewhat perilous journey, one with many hills and valleys. Yet, amid the challenges, and in this time of need I am so encouraged by the gestures of kindness of various people guiding me in an unfamiliar maze at each turn.

When I think of all the current challenges that we face in our country and as a global community, I can easily sink into despair, yet the kindness of so many people bequeath me with a sense of optimism as I hear myself commenting there are so many good people in this world, despite what we hear.  

Recently, a colleague shared, "The comfort she provides brings a sense of hope, peace, and strength to the hearts and souls of every sacred encounter.”  However, the story I'm about to share really goes above and beyond this nurse’s scope and provides an accurate look into her heart and soul. Recently one of her hospice patients was in her last days and expressed profound concern over her precious cat that had meant the world to her. The patient had inquired as to what might happen to her cat and wondered if the nurse could adopt her.

Not being able to do so, the nurse inquired about a cat rehabilitation center in the area that might be able to help out. The nurse was able to secure housing for the cat, which provided much comfort and assurance to the patient in her decline.

Yet, she has gone the extra mile! On occasion she drops in at the rehab center and visits the cat!  Upon entry to the cat’s little condo the cat recognized her knowing that she provided comfort for her best friend. 

 Now, that is bereavement follow up personified!  What a beautiful expression of love and support to both patient and feline...going the extra mile so both patient and pet can be at peace in their new settings."

Every day caregivers are offering profound acts of kindness quietly and their stories are never made known. Quiet unsung heroes. Stories that can restore our faith in the goodness of people and of all the goodness that is unfolding in our world each day.  

Desmond Tutu said it so well (and I just love his guiding principle), “Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” ~Demond Tutu

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel
Watercolor by !liz

Homes of Memory & The RMH Alum Site - Days 266-270

   "The only thing that moves here is the light," Grace (Nicole Kidman) says in "The Others" (2001) Why must this rich woman claim, "This house is ours. This house is ours." Because daughter Anne says, "They're everywhere, they say this house is theirs." "They" turn out to be ghosts.   

   But The Others is not a ghost movie. It is the compelling tale of a woman who controls her children by claiming they are photosensitive. If daylight strikes them, they will die. The metaphor is clear: Truth, like her friends Beauty & Memory, needs light.

   Even though our Memory Houses are ours there is a vast difference in how each treats the trove that lives in their rooms. 

   As one who, even as a child, dwelt on memories, I understand why some treasure them so much they will open doors to horror as well as joy & why others try to avoid that place in their heart.

   It can take courage to let light in. We require a powerful reason. 

   "I can't stand to look at them," my late father-in-law, Leif Lokvam, M.D., would understandably say when invited to view happy family slides, "Too painful." 

   An enlightening home of memory is a Facebook site, RMH Alum (Riverside Methodist Hospital.) Marvelously, its over 3000 followers show how important that hospital was too so many. It is mostly a joyful site even though the place we worked was, by definition, filled with people in deep need. 

   "There never has been a good day in a hospital," my late friend & former RMH CNO, Marian Hamm wrote. Of course, hospitals are filled with the sick. But Marian's leadership that care at Riverside would be no ordinary hospital.

  The RMH Alum site is a powerful House of Memories. One room holds 12 years of memories for me. The great light I experienced then came because the caregivers that worked there were not employees. They were healers. Beyond curing, they engaged a greater gift: Light.  

-Erie Chapman

If you appreciate the Journal, please contribute to the charity that supports it: https://www.eriechapmanfoundation.net. THANK YOU. -erie

 

  

The Power of Three: Days 264-265

Good Morning Friends,

As you ease into this week-end, what I can offer are these three prayers that speak to my heart in the hopes that they might speak to yours as well.

May we have the power of vision to look past both the specks in
our own eyes and the outward appearance of other people in order
to see that divine spark of life - of Love - which is present
in all human beings.

We pray today particularly for those who are marginalized within
our society - those whose inherent divinity is so often
unrecognized - and for those who live or work in conditions we
ourselves could not accept. For them, and for all people who
find life difficult, we pledge ourselves to the task of helping
to make this world a better place - even if it is simply by a
smile or a welcoming word.

As we pause now in the quietness of our own thoughts, let us
consider both the blessings and the trials of our lives, and
dedicate ourselves to sharing our blessings and to doing what we
can to ease the trials of others. (Unknown)

 

Dear Love,

We give thanks for places of simplicity and peace.
Let us find such a place within ourselves.

We give thanks for places of refuge and beauty.
Let us find such a place within ourselves.

We give thanks for places of nature’s truth and freedom,
of joy, inspiration, and renewal,
places where all creatures may find acceptance and belonging.
Let us search for these places in the world,
in ourselves, and in others.
Let us restore them. Let us strengthen and protect them,
and let us create them.

May we mend this outer world
according to the truth of our inner life
and may our souls be shaped
and nourished by nature’s eternal wisdom. (Michael Leunig)

 

O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all beings.
Help us become a community that vulnerably shares each other’s burdens. Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of our world. We ask for continued blessings on which to draw as we go about our work.  

When we are weary, energize us.

When burnt out, infuse us with the light of your spirit.

May the work that we do bring hope, life and courage to all whom we serve, and in the day’s most stressful moments, may we pause for that “quiet within” and rest in you. For this we pray in all the Holy names of God (Adapted from Fr.Richard Rohr)

"For whenever, two or more are gathered in His name" there is Love,

Blessing on your day,
Liz