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.

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Days 92-93 Hope

April 1, 2017

What gives you hope?

Is it the dawning of a new day or the twilight of stars first twinklings?

A stranger's smile as you glimpse each other's soul in passing or quiet moments of solitude?

What gives me hope is seeing the Light of Love in the eyes in every person I meet.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

Emily Dickinson,

Excerpt from her poem, “Hope” is the thing with feathers – (314)

Art by Liz

Posted in Uncategorized

10 responses to “Days 92-93 Hope”

Terry Chapman

April 1, 2017

Hope for me is: hooking up with a brightly colored Rainbow Trout, just as the newly arising sun, peeks over the tree line on my favorite stream. Then, again, it could be a big smile for me alone, from my twin Grand Daughters Emma & Wiley.
Or perhaps, just a beautiful musical passage from Rachmaninoff, that floats into my consciousness; soothes my soul; then moves on into the ether. Lastly, it is that smile, from a stranger, who seems to say, “Hello fellow human being; I know who you really are!”

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Maureen McDermott

April 1, 2017

Hope springs forth each morning as the light emerges ever so gently in the midst of dawn; hope stirs my heart when I encounter the touch of kindness; hope is rekindled when people who live in difficult situations rise again and face a new day. Thank you to those who inspire hope within me and thank you Liz.

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erie chapman

April 1, 2017

Yes, “the thing with feathers.” And the light in another’s eyes – family, friend or stranger. And a call from my son that he is expecting his third child – a messenger sent into a future most of which I will not see but am so hopeful that he will. Thank you, Liz, for this and for your always impressive art – here presented so clean with light and birds and trees defined by white. What else gives YOU hope?

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Anne Milligan

April 2, 2017

I think I understand Emily Dickinson and “the thing with feathers” on a soul’s journey through our earthly existence. There ARE times when we feel the veil between heaven and earth is thin and we are aware of being infused with light, and that angels and muses are magical beings and that we are not alone, and so not afraid. How could that NOT be hopeful?… That’s why I talk to Robins and Blue Jays and our bees around the hive. I KNOW they get it. I don’t understand why they do, or how they do, but I know they do… I’ll have to read the rest of the poem. Thank you Liz. This touches my heart in a thousand ways. Love to you…

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~liz Wessel

April 2, 2017

I love everyone’s comments and I thank you for yours Terry and the way you enrich the experience for readers; I am especially grateful!

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~liz Wessel

April 2, 2017

Thanks for sharing your insightful thoughts Maureen. I agreed kindness and people rising above adversity instills a sense of all inspiring hope and encouragement of what is possible when people come together for a common good.

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~liz Wessel

April 2, 2017

I am thrilled to hear of your son and his wife’s news and blessing. I appreciate your sharing this gifting with us. Thanks too for your affirmation and inquiry. I love all the thoughts and comments shared on hope and I see a common thread with my own; moments of connection and intimacy be it though music, nature, laughter, sorrow, being in communion and union vs. feeling separated from life. Little random acts of kindness that happen spontaneously a thousand times a day… it is important to notice and partake.
Thank YOU for asking and giving so generously, Erie.

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~liz Wessel

April 2, 2017

This is such a lovely reflection, Anne. Yes, there are those moments when the veil becomes very thin and all illusion dissipates. What comes to mind is the sacredness and poignancy of a loved one transitioning from this world to the next… and it is life changing. We benefit when we live in awareness of the fleeting nature of this life and allow the thinning of the veil to awaken us to the precious gift we have received.
I too love to listen to birdsong…of harmony and a peaceful joy and in the dark night hours the mockingbird’s serenade of hope is beautiful beyond measure.
Thank you, Anne.

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Terry Chapman

April 1, 2018

One year later I read this poem anew and find more meaning than before. Smiles are the gateway to human joy as we know it. Smiles unlock the essential pleasure of living and connect us to fellow human travelers along our myriad pathways.
Smiles often cover heartache, but can also transmit shared primeval joy in simply living, breathing, and sensing our shared existence with one another. And lastly, smiles are certainly a physical appearance of our human souls, linked together for eternity!

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Chapman Health International

April 1, 2018

Love the way you have created, in your artwork, those ‘things with feathers” silhouetted against the sun and fluttering their hope to the world. Happy Easter! (and hope to see your work on Instagram as well:-)

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