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.

Days 354-357 – Caregiver Ideas For Holiday Love – Open Forum

If God is Love, why are we afraid?  – Erie Chapman

   The above statement is what I try to remember to say to myself when I feel afraid. Simple irritation can be harder for me to handle. You and I know that the holidays generate their own version of stress.
Laughter
   By definition, holidays are a different time of year. Whatever patterns we normally have are changed by the arrival of these times. Expectations soar. We want everyone around us to display holiday spirit, be even more forgiving, be even more understanding.
   Simultaneously, we are often cast closer to family and friends. We want this. Yet, meaningful relationships are always challenging.
   For caregivers, these days can be especially hard. Anyone who can make it out of the hospital wants to be home. Those that remain are especially sick. Caregivers become surrogate family members while they, themselves, may feel more isolated and alone.
   What are your suggestions to other caregivers for dealing with the challenges of the holidays? The only one I know, beyond what I've written above, is to focus on my favorite stress reliever: Laughter. I don't know the baby in the photo above. But as soon as I saw the picture, I started to chuckle. In those moments, worries were replaced with joy. 
   How about you?

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8 responses to “Days 354-357 – Caregiver Ideas For Holiday Love – Open Forum”

  1. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Personally, my emotions seem quite labile this week and my eyes well up with tears at the most inopportune times. I am grateful for the gift of friendship and just the acknowledgement of our human frailties is most helpful to me. Also, if I react from a place of stress that I simply own it and apologize. Laughter is good, belly laughs best, and for me today a smile is enough.

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  2. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Looking at this little angel I can’t help but smile. Thank you! Personally, my emotions seem quite labile this week and I find my eyes well up with tears at the most unexpected times. I am grateful for the gift of your friendship and just the acknowledgement of our human frailties which is most helpful to me. Also, if I react from a place of stress that I simply own it and apologize. Laughter is good, belly laughs best, and for me today a smile is enough.

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  3. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Looking at this little angel I can’t help but smile. Thank you! Personally, my emotions seem quite labile this week and I find my eyes well up with tears at the most unexpected times. I am grateful for the gift of your friendship and just the acknowledgement of our human frailties which is most helpful to me. Also, if I react from a place of stress that I simply own it and apologize. Laughter is good, belly laughs best, and for me today a smile is enough.

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  4. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Gosh, I am having difficulty with the new posting format which is confusing to me. The message kept indicating the post wss in error and did not show up. so in my efforts I posted 3 times! Is anyone else having difficulties?

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  5. Rachelle Yeates Avatar
    Rachelle Yeates

    The holidays are such an emotional time. As happy as I am in my life, I still find moments of heartache, and I feel helpless, which is the worst kind of Christmas. I want to reach across the isle and comfort the old man who is so obviously alone, console the employee who is about to lose her house, and be there for the one who is lost. I am reminded that the Lord works in mysterious ways….and wonder at what he is calling me to do…hoping that each gesture I make is enough.

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  6. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    My apologies for my above redundant postings.
    I received this message this morning which is aligned with Erie’s teachings and with the question for this open forum.So I wanted to share it. It is from the Daily Guru.
    Let gratitude be your goal.
    When you cannot be
    grateful and accepting,
    examine your resistances
    and objections.
    They will reveal
    the terms and conditions
    you are dictating for
    how Reality should appear.
    “Gratefulness is the heart of prayer.”
    My friend Marilyn showed up at my house yesterday to help me with preparations as my son and his family are coming for a visit Monday. I had declined her prior offer to assist me so she just showed up. It was a very good surprise.

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  7. Karen York Avatar
    Karen York

    Laughter is perhaps the best stress reliever. When I take myself or what I am doing too seriously, I am more prone to being hurt or being stressed. Being able to laugh at myself is such a great gift, and one I need to give more often!
    For some, however, laughter is too elusive during this time of year. Facing a current loss or scars from years past, the pain is intolerable and hope seems lost. A caregiver’s best gift is their love and presence.

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  8. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Have you ever heard snow?
    Not the howling wind of a blizzard,
    not the crackling of snow underfoot,
    but the actual falling of snow?
    We heard it one night in Wisconsin
    quite unexpectedly
    while walking up a hill
    toward our cabin in the woods,
    a soft whisper between footsteps.
    We stopped, switched off our flashlights,
    and just listened.
    All around us in the darkness
    we heard the gentle fall
    of snow on snow.
    No wind, no sound
    but the snow.
    Have you ever heard Christmas?
    Not the traffic noises in the city,
    not the bells and hymns and carols,
    beautiful as they are,
    not even the laughter of your children
    as they open their presents–
    but Christmas itself?
    Have you been by yourself
    and just sat and listened to the silence within,
    patiently, without letting the mind
    race to the next Christmas chore?
    Perhaps if you have,
    you felt the pulse of all humanity
    beating in your own heart.
    Perhaps you noticed
    an outflowing of love
    for all your brothers and sisters
    on the earth,
    a soft sense of Oneness
    with all that lives.
    In the silence of a snowy night,
    listen intently, holding your breath,
    and you may hear snow on snow.
    Serene, alone,
    undisturbed by thought,
    listen to the silence in your heart,
    and you may hear Christmas.
    ~By Alan Harris
    Shared with me by Ann Kaiser Authorization Nurse SJHS Home Health

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