Days 363 to New Year Days 2 & 3 – Smooth Lightning

Some people have the presence of smooth lightning. Their warmth appears with a bolt of lightning that we can feel in our being.

The sick want a calming presence and the lightning of healing. Numerous studies show that a patient's blood pressure and heart rate are immediately affected by the way a doctor or nurse enters the room.

The same is true in our other encounters. We affect each others energy.

CBS Sunday Morning ran an end-of-the year segment called "Hail & Farewell" about those who lit up our lives and died during 2013. I thought of a man I met who was murdered on the edge of summer, 1968.

Bobby Kennedy had more smooth lightning in his presence than any man I ever encountered. In the summer of 1967 I was a staff aid to Congressman Robert Taft, Jr. One day I was invited to hear Bobby speak.

The small auditorium was jammed. Pushed forward by the crowd I ended up sitting on the floor ten feet from Senator Kennedy.

After his remarks I was ushered out of a side exit. The door closed behind me and there I was one-on-one with Kennedy.

He was as gentle as he was strong. His federal blue eyes were light-filled. As so often happens during magic I don't remember what he said. Everything was in his eyes.

Ten months later he lay bleeding to death. The country never got a chance to find out how he would have led our nation. But, certainly he would have led us out of the disaster called the Viet Nam War and thus saved thousands of lives.

What light shines from your presence? How does your arrival affect the health of your patients. Can you be a pathway to the smooth lightning they seek?

-Erie Chapman

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Categories: Reflections, Holidays, Spirituality

Tags: Bobby Kennedy, Erie Chapman, Jr., presence, Robert Taft, smooth lightning

5 responses to “Days 363 to New Year Days 2 & 3 – Smooth Lightning”

~liz Wessel

December 30, 2013 at 11:07 pm

What an incredible experience and moment in time; one that must live so vividly in your memory. It seems phenomenal to me, that you were present, up close and personal in Washington during such historic times. What a precious moment and gift, to have met Bobby Kennedy when his life was tragically taken all too soon.
Thank you for sharing this story and for your encouragement which inspires us to offer a light filled presence to people we care for, whether a patient, friend, family member, co-worker, or someone we may never even have met. We don’t need to be in healthcare to mine the beauty in this reflection. Thank you, Erie.

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Maureen McDermott rsj

December 30, 2013 at 11:57 pm

Presence of Smooth Lightning – thank you Erie for this reflection as we close 2013 and prepare to welcome in 2014. At this time we look forward in hope and trust. Seems as though your experience of being with Bobby Kennedy inspired you in your leadership and ministry. May we be encouraged by your reflection as we strive to be a life giving presence to all we meet in 2014.

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shirley

December 31, 2013 at 1:56 am

Christmas eve was a crazy busy day with more technical problems than I could have imagined and in the midst of my anxiety regarding the day, I entered the home of a man I had never met before. He was 90, a ex Maine, lying on the couch looking pale and short of breath with oxygen. I had barely entered the room, when with his eyes practically closed he said, “you are the first ray of sun shine I’ve seen in a long time”. I touched his arm and preceeded to explore and try to understand his “lived world”. At the end of my visit he took my hand and with such sincerity thanked me for how and what I do. It brought tears to my eyes. He said the last nurse was so cold, efficient, but cold. I thanked him and said had I been the first nurse with all the crazy evaluation questions he probably wouldn’t have liked me either. Its probably not true, but what I did think days later as I recalled the scene is that different people react differently to me, no matter how hard I may try to be that shining light, and that’s ok so long as for some I can be.

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sbeng

December 31, 2013 at 12:22 pm

Erie: after I read your reflection I wondered what was it that drew you to Bobby Kennedy’s eyes that enamored you. “His federal blue eyes were light filled.” The eyes are the mirror of the soul. Can we as nurses be a smooth lightning they seek? It all depends on our attitude to the sick and suffering. Are we doing the job so that we can get paid or is there more of the heart that we are gentle in our demeanor when we approach the patient with a caring spirit and perform our duties with a loving heart even though at times when time is of the essence and we are in a hurry. This song resonated in my being when you mentioned “those federal blue eyes” and Bobby Kennedy is of Irish descent. “When Irish eyes are smiling Sure ’tis like the morn in Spring, In the lilt of Irish laughter you can hear the angels sing When Irish hearts are happy All the world seems bright and gay and when Irish eyes are smiling Sure they steal your heart away”

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Maria Doglio

January 4, 2014 at 11:44 am

The God Spark – it’s all in us. For some it is less hidden than in others, like Kennedy. A remarkable man. What a great experience. Lately I have been thinking of resurrecting my Reiki practice – I’d like to help people understand that a great deal of healing comes within themselves as well as outside ourselves – it’s a beautiful combination of sparks balancing each other.
Thank you for sharing your memories and wishing you a most Happy New Year!

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