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 280-283 – The Rich Gift of Twilight

"When we befriend the twilight side of the heart, we discover a surer tranquility where the darkness and the brightness of our lives dwell together." – John O'Donahue

Twilight
   Someone very dear to me has been experiencing an extremely difficult time. When I asked his best friend how he was doing, she said, "I just want him to be happy." I felt better when I heard this because it sounded simple, non-judgmental and hopeful. "I want him to be happy too," I said. 

   Then I came upon O'Donahue's line (above) in his book Beauty (The Invisible Embrace.) O'Donahue's insight runs deeper and offers something better, richer, and far more realistic than plain happines. The truth is, we simply cannot be forever "happy" if we are to experience the rich gifts of life. 

   The painting by Frederic Church (above, 1860) is appealing to us because of the range of colors it displays. Pure sunshine, totally free of shadow and shape, is white and devoid of life. 

   "The twilight side of the heart" is the place where tranquility and Love reside. Twilight is the home of truth. After all, how can caregivers be perpetually "happy" in the midst of all the pain they experience?

   What I love about the gift of O'Donahue's words is that accepting them enables us to embrace every experience of life. It empowers us to accept and observe the darkness, to drink from the better as well as the sweet, to stop beating up ourselves (and our lives.) 

   We don't have to be "happy" in every moment. We don't have to waste moments ruing our darkness. Instead, we can "befriend the twilight side of the heart." Indeed, we are all "twilight people." How would we know compassion for others if we had never seen the dark? In the twilight, we can live Love. 

   I wonder if these words make sense to you in your life? Do you find yourself able to befriend darkness?

-Erie Chapman

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8 responses to “Days 280-283 – The Rich Gift of Twilight”

  1. ann kaiser Avatar
    ann kaiser

    I find I can befriend darkness because I know my Lord is with me, even in the valleys. It gives me opportunity for reflection and I find perspective at these moments.Sometimes they are the moment of truth, where you truly look at your self or the situation you are in and in that twilight gain strength and encouragement for the soul to take on day..which feeds us or encourages us to come out of the twilight into the day. As my weekend approaches for my trip to Mexico to build three homes with my church for the needy…I think of sleeping on concrete, no shower, little food, my usual mishaps with a hammer or saw..long days and surrounded by poverty…my soul reflects on how I always find the people there so happy and helpful and content with what they have and grateful for what they receive. They make life so simple, their love for the Lord so great. I know they are consumed with their own twilight’s on a daily basis, yet they shine so brightly . I have much to learn from these encounters..it feeds my soul with bitter and sweet. I feel fulfilled to take on the day brightly.

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  2. Karen York Avatar
    Karen York

    The sound of twilight is different than the sound of sunlight or moonlight. It’s as if the entire earth senses the transition from bright to dark and is there for our tranquility and peace should we choose to notice. Myriad photographs and paintings attempt to capture that experience, yet only trough listening can you fully live love in that moment. Whereever we are this evening, let’s enter the gloaming with peace and grace and allow love to envelope us.

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  3. Victoria Facey Avatar
    Victoria Facey

    Yesterday I wrote in the Journal about driving home while watching the beautiful day’s sunset. Well, my day ended much later and I was left going home in the dark. It still was nice, as the sky was clear and the stars were out.
    I bring this up because often it’s there where I find my contemplation time. With the day’s light erased and distrations muted into the evening’s blanket (a paraphrase from an earlier Journal article), this is where I search my heart and draw on the gift of peace and closure from the day. I also recognize that God’s grace has gotten me through another day and that those I care for are also ending their day’s work, too.
    As a child I feared the dark and unknown. I’ve outgrown those feelings and now embrace the transition that brings dark nights and dark moments in our life. Perhaps it is a tool for us to recognize the balance between our highs and lows…?

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  4. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Of late, Woody and I take walks at twilight. The air is cooler and the sun sets earlier signaling the changing season of our lives. I am intrigued by tree silhouettes on a canvas of changing hues and inspired by nature’s intricate patterns and delicate lace designs.
    The painting above is lovely, thanks for the gift. Twilight is an in between place that I enjoy. We tend to see in polarities, yes or no, black or white but twilight opens us to the possibility of maybe. Perhaps there is another way to see or to be.
    Yesterday, I listened to an interesting interview with Eckhart Tolle on “Speaking of Faith.” He described the minds propensity towards an incessant stream of talking to ourselves and how often we our discontent with the moment. Yet, beneath all the chatter is a calm clear awareness. (The practice of meditation helps us to touch upon this awareness.) He suggested posing a question to ourselves throughout our day. “How am I in relationship with this present moment? Am I accepting or rejecting it?” If we can stop the endless cycle of our thinking, we can awaken to the preciousness of the moment. (I know that you frequently encourage in us to embrace this wisdom.) He also, spoke of the “pain body” that we each carry within us. As difficult situations arise, a deeper pain from previous experiences may be triggered, which colors how we react. Our reactions tend to be very negative and we get caught in acting out cycles of our pain. I was taken aback when he said the pain we carry in our body’s memory could even be from previous generations! It helps to recognize when the pain body is aroused and with awareness befriend rather than shun it to diminish its power over us.
    Acceptance is a concept that somehow offers a sense of comfort to me. Accept rather than struggle uselessly. Accept rather than resist, embrace rather than deny truth… for surely peace will follow and a Love that surpasses all understanding underlies all that is. I appreciate the loving message offered to us. Your words definitely make sense and resonate with beauty and grace.

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  5. Diana Gallaher Avatar
    Diana Gallaher

    Sometimes I like to say, “Life is good. Even when it isn’t.” It just seems to me that embracing life means embracing all of it, not just the part that makes me happy. At the same time, we must do all that we can to address, ease, and end suffering.
    My two sisters had their babies with midwives attending them and chose not to have medication for the pain. Later, one of the midwives told me at a church conference we were both attending that there is something spiritually important about pain in the process of birth. Well, maybe. I don’t know. But it has made me wonder over the years about why is birth so painful.

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  6. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Funny, Diana but similar thoughts have been running through my mind the past few days, “All will be well” ~Julian of Norwich, (which I believe you have quoted before) and “Surely goodness and Love will follow me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6
    Both of my sons were birthed naturally without pain medication. For me, childbirth was a peak spiritual experience but not because of the pain but rather the miracle. The whole natural childbirth process teaches focused breathing techniques to to relax into the pain rather than resist it, to bend with it so to speak. Still, it is not for the faint of heart.

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  7. Victoria Facey Avatar
    Victoria Facey

    Reflecting on pain and related memory , I notice that my memory is sharper to recall situations where pain was involved, rather than happy times. I wonder if it is because while we naturally seek out happy times, we are traumatized by a painful event and therefore remember it as though it were fresh in our minds and hearts? Any comments?

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  8. Julie Laverdiere Avatar
    Julie Laverdiere

    I love twlight, as it has the most beautiful color of indigo blue in it. I love to look at that color, one that comes from a natural plant, and was one of the first known dyes that the indians used. The time spent in meditation makes the mind go to the softer place, where is is not dark nor bright. It is a gentle color, and a time filled with quiet reflection with God. Thank you for the reminder

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