Journal of Sacred Work

6 responses to “Days 269-272 – Heart of the Rose”

1. 

   ~liz Wessel

   September 25, 2008

   The gift of this poem touches my heart today. In the midst of sorrow, Love provides the bond, the strength, and the courage for loved ones to bear witness to pain and suffering, to overcome fear and offer Loving comfort in its place.

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2. 

   ann kaiser

   September 25, 2008

   ” The encouragement of light”…..have you ever been in the dark and felt afraid and uncomfortable. A small light, even a small candle can bring a sense of comfort and warmth. We can all be that ” light” to one another..as the saying goes… ” A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle”. I believe caregivers are the patient’s candle when things seem so dark and uncertain.

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3. 

   ~liz Wessel

   September 26, 2008

   I awoke this morning thinking about your comment Ann. How caregivers are the patients candle. I thought about the work you do behind the scenes. You communicate on the phone line with the team, insurances, medical groups, patients and families to obtain authorization for care. As I reflected the candle grew brighter until I realized it was a torch. You are so willing to carry this torch to the ends of the earth if need be to get patients what they need. You work miracles every day helping patients and families who may not even know what your caring hands do for them. For this and more I am grateful.

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4. 

   ~liz Wessel

   September 27, 2008

   Day 271
   This morning I’m restless, conflicted and I can’t relax back into the normal routines of my life here at home. Not when I think of what my brother is enduring and I realize I should not have left N.Y. There is still time to correct my mistake of indecisiveness…
   Returning to Hafiz’ poem the words open heart, open mind come to mind. The same words are in the title of a book by Thomas Keating. I go find the book and open its pages to read about contemplative prayer. I decide to go sit in the quiet of morning for a time.
   A passage on page 67 of Keating’s book is one I would like to share with you.
   “Let thoughts come and go. No annoyance, no expectation. Waiting for God without going away, giving the usual time for prayer, and putting up with what goes on in the imagination are the most effective practices for acquiring true devotion. The observance of them will lead to a complete change of heart.
   That is the awareness we are trying to awaken. It might be called spiritual attentiveness. This deep attention is aware of external factors but they don’t make any impression on it because we are captivated by a mysterious inward attention. It’s like conversing with someone you love. You may not be saying anything special, but you are wrapped up in that person. If you are eating in restaurant, the waitresses may be coming and going, but if you are engaged in an interesting conversation you will not even notice what they are doing. This prayer is not a conversation in words, but an exchange of hearts.”
   Perhaps I’ve been wrestling with God.

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5. 

   ~liz Wessel

   September 28, 2008

   Day 272
   With the recent events of my brother’s illness, I am thankful for how my family has come together to be there for him. I commented to my husband yesterday, “This is how we should live our lives every day.” Upon awakening this morning these words of Hafiz surfaced;
   How
   Do I
   Listen to others?
   As if everyone is my master
   Speaking to me
   His
   Cherished
   Last Words
   In my time of sadness, rather than recoil from the world…I know what I need to do, reach out to others and share Love.

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6. 

   Xavier Espinosa

   September 30, 2008

   The Journal brings opportunities at the most interesting times. It revives learning from long ago. Currently I am focused on the concept of “coming into wisdom” and I revisit all the things I have shared with others and that which I received and I am ever conscious of the fact that now I get it. In The Heart Aroused the author writes about sometimes imagining oneself like the men on the small boat cast upon the stormy sea and off in the distance the one you believe in asks you to step out and walk on the water to him and you stop because you are afraid to drown, but after all the trials and tribulations that you have survived, the next time you are asked to step out of the boat you do. You step and even though you are still afraid of drowning, you step out because this time you refuse to drown. My coming of wisdom gives me the strength to believe in myself and to be patient, to be sure of myself but be humble.

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