Journal of Sacred Work

"Ghost of the Future," he exclaimed, "I fear you more than any spectre
I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope
to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you
company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?" – Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

   Dickens' timeless character, Ebenezer Scrooge, had plenty of reason to fear the ghosts that appeared to him in his Christmas Eve dream. Having spent so much of his life making things miserable for others, it would take an epiphany for him to change his heart and his ways. That is, of course, what happened to him on the night before Christmas. His transformation to a life of goodness was as startling to those around him as it would be for a mean supervisor to suddenly choose the path of Love after years of creating fear.
   That is one thing I hope and pray for this Christmas, that leaders who live by seeking to generate fear may experience a Scrooge-like transformation. Such epiphanies are rare. But, I have seen them happen. Sometimes, what it takes is the simple discovery that there are other ways to lead. Amazingly, some supervisors have been taught that high control leadership is the only way. They use fear because they have never learned that Love is what draws the best from others as well as from ourselves.
   What we celebrate Christmas Day is the birth of Love's child. Jesus is the personification of hope in the world. His example shines bright for all of us.
   As for Scrooge, Dickens has him say, toward the end of his story, "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.
I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of
all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that
they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!"
   We cannot erase the errors of our past any more than Scrooge can "sponge away his." Yet, we can resolve, each day and night, to live the Love that exists to enlighten caregivers and patient's alike.
   How do you deal with the fear-based people who threaten the bring darkness to your life?

-Erie Chapman