Journal of Sacred Work

5 responses to “Day 98 – Speed and the Caregiver”

1. 

   Karen York

   April 8, 2009

   I have listened to Whyte’s CD series entitled “Clear Mind Wild Heart” and he touches on the same concept you have written here in that series. He goes on to say that we value speed to the degree that we not only lose sight of colleagues who move slower, or friends with illness, but we become impatient with them and their inability to “keep up”. As you said, we miss the larger more meaningful picture. We miss the conversation we should be having with ourselves about purpose and meaning. Organizations fall prey to losing sight of their true mission while on this never ending cycle. Holding ourselves in balance requires purposeful intention to spending time in quiet reflection or meditation and letting go of fear that we will be trampled if we stop for just a few moments. It is sometimes overwhelmingly tempting to stay with the herd, when we need to pull away for a few minutes every day to be still and to center. The herd will always be traveling and we can join when we are ready, or find our own path to another place that better matches our calling.

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2. 

   George Tracy Roberts

   April 8, 2009

   Thank you for this post Erie. I inherently operate at a slower speed and recently have leaned into the practice of consciously slowing down. I see so many people engulfed with the “what next” that it makes my heart hurt a bit; however, I have found strength in watching others struggle with being patient (is that so wrong?). I was in the post office Monday and the line was about 10 people, with 3 windows open, so, in my opinion the wait was not long. I noticed how angry people were in line; how some were literally stewing, looking at their watches, saying things like, “Come on” or “Why is this line so long?” or “I don’t have time for this”. All these things people were saying did not make me feel better about the human condition, however, I did feel better about my ability to be patient. I also realized what happens when some people are “forced” to stop and the unease they feel in their bodies when they are not “doing”. I tried to empathize with the customers but I mostly empathized with the people behind the counter having to WAIT on inpatient people each day; to wait on inpatient people. Now how’s that for an oxymoron?

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3. 

   ~liz Wessel

   April 8, 2009

   I must say both Karen and George’s (or do prefer Tracy?) reflections enrich my experience of this stimulating meditation. Although I fall short every day, my heart keeps turning back to Love. The following are teachings from A Course in Miracles that vibrate in response to these reflections.
   I have heard Love calling but I attempt to substitute by chasing endless patterns that lack real substance. Somehow, I think the truth is outside of me and that error and guilt are within but in actuality, the reverse is true, for there is no separation. I think I must ready myself, to prepare in some way to be worthy to receive. Yet, all that is required is a little willingness to let be what is without interference on my part. For truth lies within and all paths lead to One center where the “idea of loss is meaningless and only increase is conceivable for nothing can substitute or keep us from our brother/sister.”
   Mine has been a speed morning and I feel its tight hold as a knot in my shoulder muscle. As I stop for a lunch break to visit with all of you, I offer this closing thought, “Let them all go, dancing in the wind, dipping and turning till they disappear from sight, far, far outside of you. And turn to the stately calm within, where in holy stillness dwells the living God you never left, and Who never left you.” CIM

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4. 

   ~liz Wessel

   April 8, 2009

   Do I sound like I am from Alpha Sentori?

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5. 

   ~liz Wessel

   April 9, 2009

   When I looked back on what I wrote yesterday, I doubt if anyone could relate to the abstract ideas presented. You might wonder why all this talk of guilt and forgiveness. For what’s to be guilty about? What’s to be forgiven? In my day to day, I can’t say anything in particular yet on some deeper level, within the collective unconscious I think it all began with the illusion of separation. Well, enough of that…
   Now in my own words, what I realize is that busyness, or when I focus my attention on external things, it is because I want to avoid sitting with intense pain. In my youth, I survived perceived hurts by enduring, up to a point, if I decided, I had enough I would lock the chamber door and throw away the key. I walled off pain. It was as if I flicked off a light switch and puff, gone to some distant place.
   A shift has occurred in me as I no longer shut and lock the door of my heart. Sometimes I may be tempted to but I keep the door ajar. This leaves me open to feel the pain of my perceived or imagined hurts and I let them pay me a visit. Instead of wanting to banish difficult feelings from my life, I want to befriend them. What story do they need to share with me? How dark and alone, lost, and locked away they have been. I wish to bless and set them free. When I project my pain onto others, feel shunned, rejected, or perceive there is something I did not get in any situation. Instead, I want to reframe my thought to be, “what can I give?” What does this person need most from me right now and offer it without any expectation, just give, offer Love, release, space, and acceptance. This is partly because I now find it too painful to separate myself off from others. I find that I don’t want to avoid uncomfortable situations anymore but rather seek to understand by going to the person to ask, check out, be respectful, not impose, communicate, heal. I am grateful for this opportunity to share what is in my heart, mind and body, in this process of looking within I feel I am sifting, sorting and learning as I do. Therein lies the gift.

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