Journal of Sacred Work

Today's meditation was written by Cathy Self, Senior Vice President for the Baptist Healing Trust.

"I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me – shapes and ideas so near to me – so natural to my way of being and thinking…"  Georgia O'Keeffe

     What differentiates individuals like CEO Laurie Eberst and artist Georgia O'Keefe (Poppy, 1927, above) from the rest of the world? How is it that their dreams become reality and create for the rest of us places of healing, rest, and comfort? Robert Frost once noted the wonder of the human brain suggesting "it starts working the moment we get up in the morning and does not stop until we get into the office." What a funny statement but perhaps true for many who come to work in our places of health and healing. I wonder if we have lost touch with the wonder of our sacred work. Wonder seems to appear most when we let our minds wander and our hearts engage.

     Daydreaming is something we all do and is, as opinioned by some, to be the default state of the mind. Malia Mason of Columbia University suggests we constantly walk around in this state and suspend that mode of thought when confronted by something that requires our attention. Although at times daydreaming helps us sort out relational conversations or solve a problem at hand, researchers seem to agree we make associations that lead to creative ideas when we drift from a linear, well rehearsed solution and let our thoughts wander. Artists speak of their muse when in reality it is their own daydreaming that is speaking quietly behind the thought.

     It seems the easy part is letting our mands wander. The greater challenge may be in giving enough awareness to notice what's going through our minds and hearts. According to psychologist Jonathan Schoolar, a professor at the University of California, it is the people who notice their daydreams who are able to use them for effective productivity and creativity. Schooler suggests one way to discvoer this for ourselves is to set aside time to daydream. In other words, just sit and gaze out the window, often. The beauty of our world certainly found expression through the mind's eye of Geogia O'Keeffe and patients who come through the doors of Mercy Gilbert Hospital are touched by the healing once only imagined in the mind's eye of Laurie Eberst. Perhaps in your daydreams are the answer we all seek. Perhaps Love is waiting there, expecting you, and ready to be shared with the rest of us.