Days 119-123 – Transactions & Transcendence

"But isn't light as mysterious as darkness;/ isn't what lifts and reveals/ as profound as that which descends and covers?" -Clare Bateman "Luminal" (from Coronology)

In 2006 Vanderbilt physician Roy Elam, M.D. and ethicist Larry Churchill, PhD. asked members of their staff to interview fifty-six physicians about love. Their goal was to determine the role of compassion in medicine. They were worried many doctors would refuse. Instead, each was eager. Some teared up as they described heart-rending encounters with frightened patients. None had ever been asked such questions.

Caregivers yearn for the waters of transcendental love. The pressures of technology and corporate medicine militate against such an interplay. "But," as Bateman writes, "isn't light as mysterious as darkness…?"

Both are profoundly important to the practice of medicine.

David Whyte warns that "…the wound and the fury of an individual's creative life are the elemental waters missing from the dehydrated workday." The garden of caregiving can only thrive if leaders throw open the channels that irrigate healing. Otherwise, the souls of practitioners and directors die of thirst. Caregiving becomes a torn photograph.

Questions about compassion begin the dialogue. The introduction to leaders and caregivers of artful storytelling, poetry, music therapy and other creative expression deepens this dialogue.

Every time workday transactions marry love's transcendence healing is consummated.

-Erie Chapman

Photograph: "Torn Photograph with Bandaids" – Erie Chapman & Nina Webb

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swiftlyunabashed93c6d9b23b

Categories: Reflections, Holidays, Spirituality

Tags: caregivers, Clare Bateman, David Whyte, Erie Chapman, healing

10 responses to “Days 119-123 – Transactions & Transcendence”

JVD

April 27, 2015 at 6:49 pm

Erie, your picture definitely illustrates the point you make.
Happiness – Joy – Love. Three pieces coming together that can make one whole again.
Your picture has three parts and three bandages, but it is not whole. In todays business and institutional climate, it can feel like we are all a check mark, or a box left blank. A true caregiver looks at a person, steps back and reassesses the situation. This soul is not like the others that were in this room, therefore the care must align with the present and also the future needs.
I remember being in a hospital ICU and awaking to a couple of nurses saying that it was okay to feel depressed after the surgery I had. That was the darkness. They had expected what they had seen before. In my case, the fact that I awakened was the light, as I was not given a good prognosis (according to my parents, as I had already slipped into unconsciousness before surgery). So I was happy and told them it was okay for me to be alive and happy. From then on it was just trying on the bandages and seeing how soon the pieces would fit together.
Not all of the parts went back together but that does not make me any less whole. I was blessed with doctors and nurses that really cared about my recovery as a person. They even made house calls.
Music – Art – Spirituality. Three aspects coming together in my life today. And your reflection today helps draw out the darkness in one’s heart to the spiritual light of Love.
Thank you.

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~liz Wessel

April 27, 2015 at 10:03 pm

This is a powerful reflection, as well as the image shared, Erie. The band-aid seems so symbolic. As we see in healthcare, too often we try to find a work around for barriers and cumbersome ineffective systems to help patient’s and families in need. After a while you come to realize that this approach is ineffective and leads to caregiver burnout as our energy drains out of us.
Systems must change and the healthcare is at a pivotal point with a chance to take some profoundly humanistic advances. The time is now and the window of opportunity will not be here for long. Soon all the melted ice will solidify again.
I feel blessed that my son is receiving care at a state of the art healing hospital with the very best innovative technology, compassionate clinicians and truly patient centered care.
Thank you for the Beauty offered in today’s gifting.

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~liz Wessel

April 27, 2015 at 10:14 pm

J., your response to Erie’s reflection is a beautiful gifting back to Erie as well as us as readers. Your experience as a young man in which, you almost did not survive is similar to what my son has just encountered, and come to think of it similar to my own childhood experience. Whether we realize it or not (at the time) when we have a close brush with death, the experience leaves us with a gift; a profound truth about our lives.

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Patricia Daig

April 28, 2015 at 6:59 am

What a beautiful reflection. The photograph is such a strong image. The body torn asunder, the band aids, an attempt at repair. It says more to me than I can put into a thousand words

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erie chapman

April 28, 2015 at 9:04 am

Another TERRIFIC comment, J. Thank you so much. It sounds to me as if the “pieces” have in fact fit together better than before. Your contributions are deeply appreciated.

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erie chapman

April 28, 2015 at 9:06 am

Thank you, Liz. First, so glad prayers have been answered for your son. Second, thank you for your comments on the torn photograph and what it means to you. Yes, “healthcare is at a pivotal point with a chance to take some profoundly humanistic advances.”

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erie chapman

April 28, 2015 at 9:07 am

Thank you for noticing that it is a “body torn asunder” Patricia. I hope “the thousand words” in your heart will remain to inspire your life.

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Anonymous

April 29, 2015 at 10:52 am

Erie: We caregivers do not want “care giving to become a torn photograph”. You as a leader for Radical Loving Care has set an example for caregivers worldwide reading this Journal and participating in it. You have opened the channels that irrigate healing. I have learnt through your Journal that self care is just as important as caring for others. As Liz suggested the Healthcare System has a chance to take some pivotal profoundly humanistic advances. May other leaders in Medical profession follow your lead to the benefit of all caregivers.

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Anonymous

April 29, 2015 at 10:53 am

Previous post was by sbeng.

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Erie Chapman Foundation

April 30, 2015 at 8:48 pm

Thank you so much, Suan.

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