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 32-33 Our Stories

Divine Love" God made man because he  loves stories." Elie Wiesel

In ancient times before the written word, familial lineage was passed on through the oral tradition. Spiritual wisdom is often transferred best through metaphors found in the magic of storytelling. The richness and depth of life experiences captivates our imagination in our yearnings towards life's great potential.

When we read a book, gaze at a painting or  watch a movie we discover a portal into another’s universe and for a time, we live in the interior world of the person who is sharing their story. We can feel, see, glimpse and touch upon a mutual vulnerability and intimacy. We enter into a sacred realm of human connection that elicits an infinite range of possibilities .

You won't want to miss this wonderful story (3-min video) by StoryCorps that beautifully illustrates the impact we can have on one another lives. I am astounded by how an act of kindness can have a unfathomable impact that travels far beyond our awareness.

https://storycorps.org/animation/the-treasures-of-mrs-gradys-library/

Think of the people who have informed your life, perhaps they were there for you in times of adversity, moments of joy and or sorrow… There are people who will speak your name as well, when they recall those defining moments in life and the difference you made in their life journey. Love expansiveness is not bound by time or space and is continuously unfolding in a glorious mystery.

I thank you for your presence in my life.

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Artwork by ~liz

Note: You can subscribe to StoryCorps and you be inspired by what you hear; stories of hope,  courage, triumphs, forgiveness, redemption and expressions of pure love. StoryCorps mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. https://storycorps.org

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6 responses to “Days 32-33 Our Stories”

  1. Terry Chapman Avatar
    Terry Chapman

    First of all: your drawing is, for me, the best you have ever done and they are all wonderfully creative! Perhaps the colors or the tantalizing shapes? It works in opening my mind to your short essay on the effect we all have on one another’s life on Earth.
    I am still creating my life story, Suburban Odyssey, now 1600+ pages in which I share much of my “wisdom” about those that have touched my life deeply and I recalled many such persons that I had forgotten hidden under the fine mist of almost 80 years of age. Surely, your creative writing, drawing, and caring approach to your vocations, have all increased the quality of very many persons to this day!

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  2. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Thank you for enriching the quality of my life experience through your friendship and journeying along side us on the JSW. Whether through offering your own reflections or commenting, you generously share wisdom from your own life experience that is uplifting and benefits us all!

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  3. Maureen McDermott Avatar
    Maureen McDermott

    Liz you are a treasure. Thank you for the preciousness of your sharing, your captivating drawings and for enriching the lives of so many of us. Thanks especially for introducing me to Story Corps. May we continue to share our stories!!

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  4. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Maureen, I am grateful that you continue to journey with us and your insights, affirmations and kindness make a difference in my life as well as all you serve. I am so glad that you are now connected to StoryCorps!

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  5. erie chapman Avatar
    erie chapman

    The opening quote . by Wiesel: “God made man because he loves stories” is such a gem that I knew this would be an especially fine essay, Liz – and I was right. I wish there was some way we could entice every single reader- and beyond that, to listen to the short clip you embedded.
    That story has everything one seeks in a well designed parable -Meaning, inspiration and, perhaps most important, a surprise ending and then another surprise ending! Yes, the women noticed him let him “get away.” More important, like Good Samaritans, they went the big extra miles (literally) to drive all the way to Memphis to resupply that shelf for their unsuspecting “son.”
    THIS is what great caregiving is all about and we can easily see (if we stay present) how these librarians were Radical Loving Caregivers.
    After a long trip to a Sacramento to talk to leaders about story telling I was too tired to write my weekly column on time. Thank heavens because this gives at least one more day for leaders to read an listen to your great column. It also gives them a chance to feast their eyes on your lovely artwork and I love’s Terry’s affirmation. Yes, it is surely up there in the top 10 (among hundreds and hundreds now) of the fine works you have offered to bring peace to our readers. Thank youk, LIz.

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  6. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Thanks for the way in which you have enriched this essay for readers in your fantastic reflection and the way you connected the elements of this precious StoryCorps story, Erie.
    I am glad that you are back home safe and sound and I hope you have time to relax a bit!!!

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