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.

Recent Posts

About

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.

Day 296 – How Love Brings Strength

Frederick_douglass1
One and God make a majority.  Frederick Douglass

   When we unite with Love, we engage all the energy and strength we could ever need. When we are living in Love, our ego needs fall away. Since God is Love, we can, in the 21st century, do like Douglass did in the 19th – engage "a majority" every time we enter God's light. 

   As a black leader and abolitionist in the 19th century, Douglass so often stood alone that his statement takes on special meaning. In particular, Douglass campaigned against laws created out of bigotry. His opposition puts before caregivers important moral questions. What do we do when policies conflict with ethics? For example, common hospital policies dictate that visitors leave at a certain hour. There are good reasons for these policies. But, what if the patient is terminal and a family member or friend, visiting from out of town, wants just a little more time?

   What do we do when a policy says that wheel chairs are not to be taken outside the building but there is a person in need of a wheel chair just outside the door? What do we do at 6:45 p.m. if a chart has to be completed by 7 p.m. but a patient needs our presence right now?

   Polices and laws are designed, among other things, to establish a certain orderliness in complex settings. But, the very complexity of caregiving settings requires that caregivers live by principles and values rather than just rules.

   In times of trial, Love can bring us the "majority" we need to make the right choices, regardless of their popularity. In caregiving, this means striving to meet the needs of those who are suffering in the best way we can. We have this chance today, tonight and tomorrow.
   How will we meet this challenge?

-Erie Chapman

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4 responses to “Day 296 – How Love Brings Strength”

  1. Edwin Loftin Avatar
    Edwin Loftin

    Patient – mind, body, soul, and spirit first “.”

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  2. Karen York Avatar
    Karen York

    Living love calls us to a higher place. Sometimes that means going outside guidelines for the betterment of someone else. It is illegal to park our car or walk on the interstate, but if we witness a horrible accident and we can help, wouldn’t we get out of our car and walk to the person who needs us? Guidelines/regulations are for the protection of society as a whole and establish order. Yet as we know, can be the barrier to the exquisite. Abiding in a loving state of heart guides us to make the best choices instinctively.

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  3. Diana Gallaher Avatar
    Diana Gallaher

    Thank you all for every day reminding me that the greatest of these is love. I find that often, before I even realize it, I am responding not from a place of love, but some other motivation. The best way is always going to have love as the motivation, isn’t it?

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  4. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    As in all aspects of life, rules and policies help guide us through challenging situations but as homecare nurses know, you have to be flexible to meet the needs of a patient and family. Often we must improvise as the home environment lacks the well stocked supply room of a hospital. Situations arise that policies may not anticipate and the answer is not not black and white; more a hazy shade of grey. Novice clinicians new to the profession (Benner’s 5 levels of skill aquisition level) rely heavily on following policies because they lack experience and are developing critical thinking skills. Expert nurses are able to navigate the most complex situations with seeming ease, intuition helps guide their encounters with patients and family, sensitive to unspoken cues and less obvious or perhaps hidden concerns. I think we must use caution not to rigidly follow a rule just because “that’s the rule.” Clinical excellence, collaboration, an openness to new ideas, discernment, and compassion must help guide our decisions. Thanks for your insightful meditation.

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