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.

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.

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 351-352

David-Whyte   If you are lucky, you will one day have the chance to contemplate retirement for your labors – or to choose, as I am, to find a different way and a different place to express your gifts to the world. This poem by David Whyte (left) speaks eloquently to this issue. His words may be as powerful for you today as they will be later in your life. For Whyte speaks to our personal pathway through the world – and how we may find it. The end of the year is a wonderful time for contemplation. May Whyte's words help you in your personal reflection as a caregiver – Erie 

Sweet Darkness – David Whyte

When your eyes are tired

the world is tired also.

 

When your vision has gone

no part of the world can find you.

 

Time to go into the dark

where the night has eyes

to recognize its own.

There you can be sure

you are not beyond love.

The night will give you a horizon

further than you can see.

You must learn one thing.

The world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds

except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet

confinement of your aloneness

to learn

anything or anyone

that does not bring you alive

is too small for you.

Posted in

4 responses to “Days 351-352”

  1. Karen York Avatar
    Karen York

    I have long loved this poem and every time I read it I find new meaning and new strength in my periods of darkness. In those moments we are forced to let go of all those things that hold us back and leap with abandon into what brings us fully alive. “There you can be sure you are not beyond love…” Thank you for posting this today Erie.

    Like

    Reply
  2. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    To enter into the darkness of our own discovery… to respond to souls longing and take a new path…well, this takes great courage! To recognize life’s changing rhythms and flow with rather than resist oceans currents…well, this is graceful beauty. You’ve recognized this rare opportunity and awakened you say, Carpe Diem! Congratulations, Erie! I admire your impassioned courage to BE the adventure of your life’s quest.
    Too often, we attempt to control life by living an orderly patterned existence of safety as we try to author the events of our life. Inadvertently, we may hold on so tight we the squeeze the very life giving breath out of our world. Eventually, the seams of our illusion come apart and with the unraveling, we realize our sturdy fortress is only a sand castle. More and more, I appreciate the Buddhist expression about the fullness and emptiness that is in all, as I experience this truth.
    Somehow, it seems important to acknowledge and process through the impact of your healthcare journey as you transition to a new beginning. True, I have only been a very small part in it, still, it is so hard to let go….At least this is how I currently feel, realizing you will no longer be a part of my daily life here on this Journal. Yet, on a spiritual level, I remind myself that there is no loss as we are all connected as One.
    I’ve been trying to notice how often I feel this sense of loss about life in general. I must confess it is a daily occurrence. I think awareness is the first step in freeing ourselves, so there is hope for me. 😉
    Blessings to you, Rev.
    ~liz

    Like

    Reply
  3. Victoria Facey Avatar
    Victoria Facey

    What an unusual and haunting poem. I had to read it twice before I could relate to the content.
    On one hand, I welcomed the idea of being cloaked in darkness for valuable privacy, then there was the “yang”, the fear of becoming invisible to the outside world. I will revisit this poem again…

    Like

    Reply
  4. Suan B Geh Avatar
    Suan B Geh

    In the recent event of the earthquake in Haiti I am reminded and is thankful that the Lord in His provision has given me a roof over my head, transportation and food. In addition I have friends especially Liz W. who has provided me with comfort and support. Thank you Erie for all the articles in the past year which are uplifting, encourageing, healing and full of resources which we as caregivers can apply towards humanity (in whatever stations of their lives they may be in) whom we serve in our different capacities. God Bless.
    go

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment