Journal of Sacred Work

Erie Chapman

  • Days 116-120 – Where Are You From?

    Minton Sparks helps us understand where we are truly “from.” For example, I am from my father’s Hollywood YMCA where I spent every Saturday swimming…and I am from the older sister who helped raise me, my first friend Jill &… Continue reading

  • Days 109-113 – The “Barbarian” President

    This election is important to every caregiver because Presidents set the nation’s tone. A negative approach can influence millions to decide cynicism is better than optimism. Every great President has led with hope & love, not fear & disdain. Continue reading

  • Days 102-106 – The Male Need for Softness

    Men honor softness in women. Yet, only a small number admit to appreciating the vulnerable in themselves…It is the television news from Syrian deserts & Chicago streets that wants Love’s soft embrace. It is Hostility’s face that seeks healing lace. Continue reading

  • Days 95-99 – Five Lines

    Maybe all we want is to be heard. Maybe all we want is to be heard./ Is that the “human virtue” the hand-sketched boy whistles?/ Do you hear his song?/ Do I hear yours? Is that what wins Love’s perfect… Continue reading

  • Days 88-92 – “And Jesus Laughed”

    Does it not make sense that the Jesus who wept would also laugh? Do you wonder if he danced & sang as well?…In the days following Holy Week it is comforting to believe that along his earthly journey Jesus, like… Continue reading

  • Days 81-85 – Holy Week or Hell Week?

    To listen to Donald Trump during these sacred days causes one to wonder if this is Hell Week in America rather than Holy Week in the world. The omnipresent Trump is accidentally reminding loving caregivers of something we sometimes forget:… Continue reading

  • Days 67-71 – The Secret of Gratitude: Timeless Celebration

    In 1973 neurologist Oliver Sacks gave us a timeless gift (one of many.) He penned the book Awakenings. Seventeen years later it became an Academy Award nominated film. Patients frozen into silence & immobility are given a new drug. After… Continue reading

  • Days 60-64 – After Pain

    By now, you are a veteran of pain….One thing you know for sure. The worst thing to tell a sufferer is that, “Pain is a great teacher.” What we want is compassion not counsel…There is often no cure for our… Continue reading

  • Days 41-45 – Gifts of the Prism

    This morning’s storm off the South Florida coast bore the classic characteristics of subtropical weather: mayhem. Wind bent the rain into waterfalls that punched holes in the skin of the Atlantic. Waves were drunken sailors in a barroom brawl. Dark… Continue reading

  • Days 39-43 “I was killed…”

    One summer morning dawn’s eye watched thousands of men doing something curious. They were calmly writing their names on pieces of paper & sewing them into their coats to ensure that family could be notified in case of their death. Continue reading