Journal of Sacred Work

Caregivers have superpowers! Radical Loving Care illuminates the divine truth that caregiving is not just a job. It is Sacred Work.

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Former President & CEO of multiple hospital systems and founding president & CEO of 20-hospital OhioHealth, best selling author, film artist, ordained minister, composer, published poet, syndicated T.V. host, trial attorney, federal prosecutor and Municipal Court Judge. Erie is internationally known as the founder of the Radical Loving Care(R)movement. He also heads Erie Chapman Foundation, Dane Dakota Productions, LLC, and Chapman Health International, Inc.

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Sunday Meditation: Words & Actions

September 10, 2006

The people honors me with

their lips
but their hearts are far from
me; (Mark 7:6)

Matching actions to words is a life long challenge for all of us. We speak lofty values because we know we’re supposed to and because it’s easy. Soon we discover a gap of a certain distance between word and act.
We announce our support for truth and practice our own versions of white lies (or worse.) We express our belief in equality and often ignore the plight of the underprivileged. We nod our heads in agreement with Jesus’ plea that we love one another and then find our hearts filled with anger and hatred. What can we do to close the gap between word and action?…

The most likely choice most people might take is to do nothing. "I’m just an ordinary human," we might say. True as this is, it’s also a lame excuse. We can all do more.
Another choice is to lower our claims, to stop expressing our adherence to such grand values if we’re not going to follow them. But what does that leave? Are we to start saying we don’t believe in truth, equality and love?
Jesus calls us to a harder choice: to live love no matter how difficult this may be.
I’m as guilty as the next person, maybe more so, of falling short of my value’s goals. It’s a daily and nightly challenge for all of us.
What matters is that we keep trying, that we never surrender in our commitment to be who we say we are. That is the calling for all caregivers. It is the call of Jesus to live love.

Posted in Meditations

5 responses to “Sunday Meditation: Words & Actions”

liz Wessel RN, MS SJHS Home Health Network, Orange, CA

September 10, 2006

I am a firm believer that actions speak louder than words and each morning I begin my day in prayer intention for how I might walk through my day. I agree with you, that we must continually strive to do better in our commitment to love. I do my best to show kindness at home and in my daily comings and goings with people.
At times, I am a person of few words, as I don’t really see the point of filling up silence with a lot of empty words. The Journal has become a gift to me. The exercise of reflecting upon the meditations helps crystallize my thoughts and give expression to them, and in the process, I am getting to know myself better.
Yesterday I began re-reading a book called “When Things Fall Apart,” by Pema Chodren. The following are some of the points she makes; “We all have a certain image of ourselves that we carry around. Yet, if we pause long enough to see really ourselves with all of our weaknesses and difficult emotions, (such as shame, dislike, fear, embarrassment, the pain of loss and grief, or a bleeding heart, etc.) the truth nails us and we suffer. The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves. It is painful when we buy into disapproval as we then begin to practice disapproval causing harm to others and ourselves. Running from our uncomfortable feelings is a way of not facing what is in our heart. All anxiety, all dissatisfaction, all reasons for hoping our experience could be different are rooted in our fear of death. We face many deaths in every day life that we experience as disappointment in things not working out, loosing one we love, or continual change. Entering into a relationship with death, we can begin to live a more insightful, compassionate life. She recommends that we allow in some open space to get to know our feelings and just feel them. We will discover that beneath our fear and edginess is something very soft and tender. If we can come back to the present moment and relax with our feelings of discomfort, that is the beginning of the beginning. The more we slow down enough to notice what we do or say, the more we can avoid emotional chain reactions, understand how they work, and can refrain from causing harm. We can practice gentleness and a letting go.”
I guess this is really deep stuff but at this present space in time, I am finding her teachings very helpful to me.

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David Dunn, M.D.

September 10, 2006

I revisited your Journal this weekend to see what new insights you might have to offer. I wasn’t seeing much new in today’s entry until I began to reflect on what this Journal might really be about.
It seems to me that your premise may be that we already know most of what you have to say. The question is whether we can find new courage to embrace old ideas. Your reflections are a sort of prod to us. Frankly, I find I need to be prodded to recall why I entered medicine and what I need to remember in thinking about my patients. I applaud your effort and hope lots of caregivers, including more doctors, will comment at this site.

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Diana Gallaher

September 10, 2006

I appreciate both comments from today. As a “feeling” person who was taught that feelings were “bad”, to be present, to know, and “just feel” my feelings is hard for me. But I do believe that underneath the fear and edginess is something soft and tender. Thank you, Liz, for sharing. And yes, I experience these meditations as a prod to be true to the values I hold.
Diana Gallaher
Tennessee Justice Center

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Erie Chapman

September 10, 2006

Thank you for these comments on the Sunday meditation. I hope it will make a difference in the lives of those few who read it.

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Karen York

September 10, 2006

These meditations are always helpful and provide a place for thought and reflection. For us to challenge ourselves, or to find comfort in the words of another. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us.
Karen

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