And it was then that in the depths of sleep
Someone breathed to me: "You alone can do it,
Come immediately."
-Jules Supervielle (translated by Geoffrey Gardner)
We spend about a third of our lives in sleep and part of that time in the strange land of dreams, (imagined in this painting by Thomas Moran)
The late Uruguayan-born poet, Jules Supervielle (1884-1960) left us many beautiful lines of poetry and prose. The above three lines from the end of his poem "The Call" provoke memories of times when we have heard voices in the quiet of the night, perhaps in dreams, possibly in half-awake moments when suddenly we hear a voice calling to us. We raise up on our elbow, look about, realize that the voice was probably coming from within. What do these secret voices breathe to us? What is it that we alone can do?…
This is the most personal of questions and one of the most important ones for us to ask ourselves. So much of what we do in our work may be done by others just as well or better. What are the unique things that we alone may bring to the table of love – things that are special to our own hearts?
I have sometimes heard the cynical voice of some leaders say, "everyone is replaceable." The better truth is, everyone’s job is replaceable, but no person is replaceable. We each hold the potential to do as poet David Whyte calls us to do: bring our hearts to work. When we do this, we are bringing the most unique and special element of our lives into the work place.
There is something we alone can do. We can bring our own version of love to the bedside of a patient, to the meeting table, to any encounter we have with someone in need.
There is, of course, a counter force, a two-word question that represents the center of cynicism. It comes from those who look at any given act with the lazy inquiry, "So what?"
Loving caregivers need never wonder about the answer to this question. Every kind act is meaningful, whether we see the consequences of that act or not. Each loving gesture sends a ripple of light into the world.
On this day, we may ask what special secret we hold within us: What voice breathes to us that we must bring our uniqueness to someone immediately. The voice is strange, and yet we know it. There is 
always someone who needs us, whether they speak the need out loud or not.
Find the person that needs you. Go to them. Share your love with them today in a way only you can. So that at the end of this day, in the middle of the night as you lie in the land of dreams, you may hear a voice breathing to you in the depths of your sleep: "Thank you for your gift of love."
-Erie Chapman
*The image above is by Deborah Koff-Chapin
Journal of Sacred Work 
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