I'm struggling as a Lay Leader in my congregation right now. There is a malicious, pervasive and altogether non-spiritually focused power skirmish between a small group and the larger leadership body. The small group engages in slander and lying as well as passive-aggressive behaviors in order to keep things "as they've always been" and to keep themselves in power (such as that is).
It has challenged me (and continues to) as I grapple with how to remain in relationship with these persons, and to point out the denial and lying strategies that they are using. My point is to try to be with them to name the behavior and move towards replacing said behavior with one more conducive to community building. I was at a loss, however, to know where to turn for help with this - but the Other knew where to go. At the same time I'm being led to implement a program of caring for those going through divorce. This lead me to a need to find a teen-focused program called, "Life Hurts, God Heals" (www.simplyyouthministry.com).
The "Life Hurts, God Heals" program uses acrostics to re-inforce the learning that participants go through as they attend the course. Thus, "denial" becomes: D= disregards our feelings; E=exhausts us; N=never lets us grow; I=isolates us from G-d; A=abandons our relationships; L=lengthens our pain. The word "truth" becomes: T=time; R=rely; U=unearth; T=total recall; H=honest. Wonderful material to begin to address the issues for really broken people and relationships.
The acrostics also lead us to a place where we realize once again that human behaviors lead to problems whereas a reliance on the teachings of G-d lead us to wholeness (shalom). No healing come without dealing with the issues at hand and in learning how to undo the behaviors that have/are causing so much pain. Without repentance (turning to a different way) we are destined to repeat the same behaviors (recidivism) that have characterized our life to that point. Truly tragic!
Health, wellness and wholeness come from a view outside of ourselves and our ego needs. Denial, lying, slander, idol worship, etc, come from inside our own ego-fueled worldview. Open up to a new worldview and find the healing you deserve as a beloved child of G-d.
Peace and wholeness,
Dan
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Suffering in Silence...
There are many social faux pas when it comes to being ill. One of the "worst" seems to be the fear of complaining. We'd rather suffer in silence and pain than to voice our complaints and have them addressed. It's really a very interesting psycho-social issue, this need to not be seen as a complainer. Part of us seems to expect that those around us should be able to read our minds and meet our every need so that we don't have to admit that we need help.
How is it that complaining got such a bad rap? No human being has been imbued with the power to read another's mind. Granted, when we live with another for long enough, we can resonably predict how that person will react, or what they will say. However, in community we are placed in contact with persons that we don't know well - yet the expectation for mind reading is the same. The expectation from the community is that you'll "buck up" or the current phrases "man up" and "take it like a man". Yet this view only prolongs and deepens our suffering. Isn't there another way that can bring release and healing?
Actually there is, and we need to look no farther than the Psalms. Fully one-third of the 150 Psalms are songs of lamentation. In these we find people shouting full voiced at G-d at perceived wrongs, at the vagaries of fate, at the absence of G-d. Psalm 22 points cries, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" These are not complaints, they are heart-felt longings that require expression. There is no need to hold back from telling G-d that we are hurting or lonely, or scared, or all three. G-d is compassionate, meaning that G-d "suffers with" us.
So, it's likely that there is no lack of a need to bring up our lamentations to one another. The problem is a lack of empathy and compassion on our parts. We view people who raise complaints as people who are somehow unjustified in their view of the world. We lack the insight into their lives, thus we distance ourselves and deman the "other". We cause people to suffer in silence because we do not want to suffer with them - we don't have time or capacity or inclination.
Returning comapssion and empathy to a burdened health care system and faith communities is our mission and vision at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org). Re-integrating faith communities into the care of all persons will allow for lamentations to be heard and for suffering to be honored and addressed. Come along with us on our trek.
Peace,
Dan
How is it that complaining got such a bad rap? No human being has been imbued with the power to read another's mind. Granted, when we live with another for long enough, we can resonably predict how that person will react, or what they will say. However, in community we are placed in contact with persons that we don't know well - yet the expectation for mind reading is the same. The expectation from the community is that you'll "buck up" or the current phrases "man up" and "take it like a man". Yet this view only prolongs and deepens our suffering. Isn't there another way that can bring release and healing?
Actually there is, and we need to look no farther than the Psalms. Fully one-third of the 150 Psalms are songs of lamentation. In these we find people shouting full voiced at G-d at perceived wrongs, at the vagaries of fate, at the absence of G-d. Psalm 22 points cries, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" These are not complaints, they are heart-felt longings that require expression. There is no need to hold back from telling G-d that we are hurting or lonely, or scared, or all three. G-d is compassionate, meaning that G-d "suffers with" us.
So, it's likely that there is no lack of a need to bring up our lamentations to one another. The problem is a lack of empathy and compassion on our parts. We view people who raise complaints as people who are somehow unjustified in their view of the world. We lack the insight into their lives, thus we distance ourselves and deman the "other". We cause people to suffer in silence because we do not want to suffer with them - we don't have time or capacity or inclination.
Returning comapssion and empathy to a burdened health care system and faith communities is our mission and vision at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org). Re-integrating faith communities into the care of all persons will allow for lamentations to be heard and for suffering to be honored and addressed. Come along with us on our trek.
Peace,
Dan
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Loss of Normalcy...
Today's post is a continuation of the stream of consciousness related to spiritual aspects of illness. In Norman Cousins' book "Anatomy of an Illness" (see earlier post) he describes those things which afflict us that are associated with disease (especially chronic disease) but are untreated and un-treatable by modern medicine. One of those untreated problems is the perceived loss of normalcy, or perfect health, or the feeling of invulnerability.
Certainly we all know that at some point we will die. Every person who ever lived has died - with the possible exception of the prophet Elijah. We deny our mortality however, and do everything possible to avoid aging and journeying towards death. We fear cancer and other terminal diagnoses, because we know that we will never be normal again. We spend time talking about what we used to be able to do in our "prime" rather than talking about how much we can still do today.
The diagnosis of a life-limiting disease is a difficult one to wrap our psyche's around. Suddenly we are not normal, we are diseased, we are vulnerable, we are mortal. We are now a statistic and we fit into some predicted disease progression based on our physiologic derrangement or not. We fear the future as we cling to our used-to-be's. Some never recover from this mind-set - they live out their days in the search for a cure and for a return to normalcy.
We live often from a sense of scarcity and this colors everything we do. Scarcity language says that the glass is only half-full, that our best days are behind us, that we have no further developmental potential. The reality however, is that we can live every day to the fullest extent, that we can live out of abundance knowing that we still have half a glass to go.
Abundance language returns us to our sense of self. While it can not return us to previous health, it can restore our wholeness and our ability to live fully and well. I ask you this week to speak from a place of abundance - looking on the positive side of life. You will find that it doesn't matter whether you're normal or not - you have abundant life if you choose to live it.
Peace,
Dan
Certainly we all know that at some point we will die. Every person who ever lived has died - with the possible exception of the prophet Elijah. We deny our mortality however, and do everything possible to avoid aging and journeying towards death. We fear cancer and other terminal diagnoses, because we know that we will never be normal again. We spend time talking about what we used to be able to do in our "prime" rather than talking about how much we can still do today.
The diagnosis of a life-limiting disease is a difficult one to wrap our psyche's around. Suddenly we are not normal, we are diseased, we are vulnerable, we are mortal. We are now a statistic and we fit into some predicted disease progression based on our physiologic derrangement or not. We fear the future as we cling to our used-to-be's. Some never recover from this mind-set - they live out their days in the search for a cure and for a return to normalcy.
We live often from a sense of scarcity and this colors everything we do. Scarcity language says that the glass is only half-full, that our best days are behind us, that we have no further developmental potential. The reality however, is that we can live every day to the fullest extent, that we can live out of abundance knowing that we still have half a glass to go.
Abundance language returns us to our sense of self. While it can not return us to previous health, it can restore our wholeness and our ability to live fully and well. I ask you this week to speak from a place of abundance - looking on the positive side of life. You will find that it doesn't matter whether you're normal or not - you have abundant life if you choose to live it.
Peace,
Dan
Monday, March 21, 2011
Fear of Knowing
Today's post is brought about by my reflections on the spiritual aspects of illness (see a few posts ago). One set of the spiritual aspects of illness are the fears. One specific fear that I'd ike to spend some time with today is the fear of knowing - not a mis-print, I did not mean the fear of the un-known. Let's explore this fear more and posit why it occurs.
It has been a common occurrence in my career dealing with critically ill and injured persons that the subject has not been to see a physician in many years. They knew things were "wrong", they knew what the MD was going to tell then (lose 20 pounds, get more exercise, etc). They weren't about to spend the money to be told what they already knew and weren't willing to do anything about. Finally, some set of problems became acute enough and they ended up in the Emergency Room (usually) and then the ICU (intensive care unit). They would often remark something to the extent of "see, I knew that if I saw a doctor they would find something wrong - that's all doctor's do!"
The fear of knowing is prevalent and persistent. We grapple with fear everyday - usually of the unknown. My son remarked over the weekend that people were buying potassium iodide tablets in case the radiation from Japan reached the United States. He asked me about this and I told him that the majority of the U.S. was going to receive far more radiation from over use of their cell phones, I-pads, etc, than they ever would from a possible radiation leak from the Japanese nuclear reactor. However, we also fear knowing - especially when it comes to disease. The most feared knowing has to do with the diagnosis of cancer.
Much of my professional life has been spent helping people understand the difference between possible and probable - most often it has been in understanding the side effects of medications. It often comes down to a little bit of knowledge being dangerous! When things are taken out of context, or there is not enough knowledge to interpret information, then fear mounts. People are torn between wanting to know and not wanting to know. There is a very real fear of the diagnosis - because then the unknown fear will be real and will require a new pattern of behavior in a new reality.
We fear changes in our view of reality. We fear needing to adjust our lives to the new worldview. The fear paralyzes us and we do nothing to change the situation. Denial becomes our friend and we live out our lives in "quiet desperation" not ever having truly lived. Most religious traditions promise something else, however. A different worldview that allows us to have the strength and support to face our realities together and move boldly forward into the known and the unknown. As individuals we can hide, as groups we confront and affirm. This is how we combat the fears that sap our abundant life and our health, wellness and wholeness.
This is what Possibilities Journey, Inc is doing in the world. (www.possjrny.org) We are beginning to build a new model of integrating faith communities into the health care system to help all people get the spiritual care they need. Join us in the journey into a new reality.
Peace,
Dan
It has been a common occurrence in my career dealing with critically ill and injured persons that the subject has not been to see a physician in many years. They knew things were "wrong", they knew what the MD was going to tell then (lose 20 pounds, get more exercise, etc). They weren't about to spend the money to be told what they already knew and weren't willing to do anything about. Finally, some set of problems became acute enough and they ended up in the Emergency Room (usually) and then the ICU (intensive care unit). They would often remark something to the extent of "see, I knew that if I saw a doctor they would find something wrong - that's all doctor's do!"
The fear of knowing is prevalent and persistent. We grapple with fear everyday - usually of the unknown. My son remarked over the weekend that people were buying potassium iodide tablets in case the radiation from Japan reached the United States. He asked me about this and I told him that the majority of the U.S. was going to receive far more radiation from over use of their cell phones, I-pads, etc, than they ever would from a possible radiation leak from the Japanese nuclear reactor. However, we also fear knowing - especially when it comes to disease. The most feared knowing has to do with the diagnosis of cancer.
Much of my professional life has been spent helping people understand the difference between possible and probable - most often it has been in understanding the side effects of medications. It often comes down to a little bit of knowledge being dangerous! When things are taken out of context, or there is not enough knowledge to interpret information, then fear mounts. People are torn between wanting to know and not wanting to know. There is a very real fear of the diagnosis - because then the unknown fear will be real and will require a new pattern of behavior in a new reality.
We fear changes in our view of reality. We fear needing to adjust our lives to the new worldview. The fear paralyzes us and we do nothing to change the situation. Denial becomes our friend and we live out our lives in "quiet desperation" not ever having truly lived. Most religious traditions promise something else, however. A different worldview that allows us to have the strength and support to face our realities together and move boldly forward into the known and the unknown. As individuals we can hide, as groups we confront and affirm. This is how we combat the fears that sap our abundant life and our health, wellness and wholeness.
This is what Possibilities Journey, Inc is doing in the world. (www.possjrny.org) We are beginning to build a new model of integrating faith communities into the health care system to help all people get the spiritual care they need. Join us in the journey into a new reality.
Peace,
Dan
Friday, March 18, 2011
A Blessing...
Today's post (a day late, sorry) is from an Irishman, John O'Donohue. O'Donohue was a wonderful spiritual writer and poet - weaving the experience of his wild, western Ireland geography and climate into his spiritual experience. I've included a poem, a blessing, from his book, "To Bless the Space Between Us". May it be a place of healing and comfort for all of you!
Peace,
Dan
Title: A Blessing for One Who is Exhausted
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight,
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken for the race of days.
At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.
You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
Peace,
Dan
Title: A Blessing for One Who is Exhausted
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight,
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken for the race of days.
At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.
You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Self-Esteem and HW2
Today I'm reflecting on the relationship between the loss of self-esteem and the decrease in our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). Illness (or injury), especially that which changes the way in which we interact with our world, often leads to a loss of self-esteem. Persons lose their self-esteem whenever they are unable to fulfill the role that they had in society. This is often due to a loss of job or function within the workplace.
When self-esteem is lost, or significantly decreased, it affects our wholeness - our sense of self and our role in the world. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts as we descend into the pit of loss, we often find ourselves in a place without light and without a path back into life. I am interacting with a person right now who has had a divorce (some years ago) and who still feels alienated from the "married world" and thinks she doesn't fit in to the church because of her "status". Self-esteem is a powerful worldview that can be really debilitating when lost!
In order to regain our HW2 we need a different narrative than the one that the world gives. We need a narrative of forgiveness and empowerment that puts the situation in perspective, provides support for honest sharing, and enables us to see our world in a new and healthy way. This is why we at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org) are attempting to re-integrate spiritual care through faith communities into health care systems. Without the spiritual/wholeness focus, people may be adequately treated, but will still be left broken and unwhole.
Regaining self-esteem and our worldview is exactly what faith communities do (in the best of situations). This is why they are filled with broken people who are searching for healing - healing of the spirit and connection with people who truly care for all of them, not just the part that used to be employed, sober, married, rich, powerful, etc. Come along and help us create that environment for everyone.
May your week be filled with peace,
Dan
When self-esteem is lost, or significantly decreased, it affects our wholeness - our sense of self and our role in the world. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts as we descend into the pit of loss, we often find ourselves in a place without light and without a path back into life. I am interacting with a person right now who has had a divorce (some years ago) and who still feels alienated from the "married world" and thinks she doesn't fit in to the church because of her "status". Self-esteem is a powerful worldview that can be really debilitating when lost!
In order to regain our HW2 we need a different narrative than the one that the world gives. We need a narrative of forgiveness and empowerment that puts the situation in perspective, provides support for honest sharing, and enables us to see our world in a new and healthy way. This is why we at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org) are attempting to re-integrate spiritual care through faith communities into health care systems. Without the spiritual/wholeness focus, people may be adequately treated, but will still be left broken and unwhole.
Regaining self-esteem and our worldview is exactly what faith communities do (in the best of situations). This is why they are filled with broken people who are searching for healing - healing of the spirit and connection with people who truly care for all of them, not just the part that used to be employed, sober, married, rich, powerful, etc. Come along and help us create that environment for everyone.
May your week be filled with peace,
Dan
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Feeling Isolated...
Isolation is a feeling that is common among those with chronic illness. The feeling of being different or not normal, or not whole is one that can become a real barrier for people who need to connect to others. Even if there are no outward signs of disease, the affected person fears that when they are found to have "disease X" that people will shun them. Certainly, those with HIV/AIDS know this all too well across the world where there is a huge societal stigma associated with this all too prevalent disease.
What is our call then as people of faith to respond to the person who feels isolated? The first is to be in right relationship with them so that we sense that the person is feeling isolated - even if they will not divulge this information. Secondly, we are called to continue to bring them into the fold and love them no matter what the illness or brokenness. We may need to check in with the person and ask if they are involved in activities and are maintaining social contacts and events. It might mean "dragging" them along to things in order to show them that they are not modern day lepers.
I'm teaching a group of confirmands - all 8th graders - this week about "Caring for the Sick" as part of a learning program based on the parable of the good samaritan. We will be talking about modern day lepers - and I'm sure I'm going to have to teach them about how persons with Leprosy were (and still are) treated. We will talk about persons who exist on the fringes of society (the mentally ill for example) and what their reactions are to those persons who pan-handle on street corners. We will be talking about how isolated these persons are in their daily lives - and how the gutting of the mental health system in the 1980's has brought us to this place.
Isolation is a curable spiritual illness. It's one that doesn't cost any money, but it does cost us time to build right relationships. We need to look at issues like HIV/AIDS in a way that names the social injustices that create a vector for viruses like HIV to not only exist but to thrive. We then will need to act on those injustices in order to finally get control of diseases like HIV - medications just get at the infection, they don't treat the cause - they don't treat the stigma and isolation.
For Christians, this week marks the beginning of Lent. May the next few weeks be for all of us a time of reflection and honesty about how much or how little we are doing for all of our brothers and sisters who are isolated.
Peace,
Dan
What is our call then as people of faith to respond to the person who feels isolated? The first is to be in right relationship with them so that we sense that the person is feeling isolated - even if they will not divulge this information. Secondly, we are called to continue to bring them into the fold and love them no matter what the illness or brokenness. We may need to check in with the person and ask if they are involved in activities and are maintaining social contacts and events. It might mean "dragging" them along to things in order to show them that they are not modern day lepers.
I'm teaching a group of confirmands - all 8th graders - this week about "Caring for the Sick" as part of a learning program based on the parable of the good samaritan. We will be talking about modern day lepers - and I'm sure I'm going to have to teach them about how persons with Leprosy were (and still are) treated. We will talk about persons who exist on the fringes of society (the mentally ill for example) and what their reactions are to those persons who pan-handle on street corners. We will be talking about how isolated these persons are in their daily lives - and how the gutting of the mental health system in the 1980's has brought us to this place.
Isolation is a curable spiritual illness. It's one that doesn't cost any money, but it does cost us time to build right relationships. We need to look at issues like HIV/AIDS in a way that names the social injustices that create a vector for viruses like HIV to not only exist but to thrive. We then will need to act on those injustices in order to finally get control of diseases like HIV - medications just get at the infection, they don't treat the cause - they don't treat the stigma and isolation.
For Christians, this week marks the beginning of Lent. May the next few weeks be for all of us a time of reflection and honesty about how much or how little we are doing for all of our brothers and sisters who are isolated.
Peace,
Dan
Monday, March 7, 2011
Helplessness...
Today's post is a further reflection on Norman Cousins' book "Anatomy of an Illness". In it he posits that one of the first feelings in illness is a feeling of helplessness. He goes on to say that helplessness is "a serious disease in itself". I thought about that for a while, and realized that he was on to something - something that greatly affects our health, wellness and wholeness.
Feeling helpless is not a good feeling for most of us. We talk a lot as health care professionals about the "sick role" and the actions of persons while they are ill. We talk (in usually a snarky way) about those persons who seem to thrive on being sick and attracting attention to themselves in this manner. Men are often generalized by society to be more helpless than women when sick - even with minor and common ailments such as colds or influenza. We make fun of big burly men laid low by microscopic organisms and being whiny and helpless while so encumbered.
What about those persons, thousands each week, who receive significant or life-limiting diagnoses? Those persons and their support systems are suddenly thrust into a new reality - one that includes dysfunctional physiology. Most adults are equipped to handle many things in life, we are ill equipped (un-equipped?) to handle the inability to effect a change back to a time without that diagnosis. We don't know how to not have cancer (for example). It really throws our world into chaos - and our worldview of immortality and invincibility is shattered.
How do we recover our empowerment and sense of moving forward - our wholeness? There is no pill to treat helplessness, that has to come (I believe) from an interaction with something or someone outside our worldview. Whether this be support groups, spiritual guidance, Stephen Ministry, one-on-one counseling, active participation in a faith community and the role of God in one's life, or all the above, we need some help to regain our balance. Those that do not regain balance find themselves less and less empowered and and tend to fall into a victim mentality.
We at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org) believe that this is the weakness in our current health care system. A lack of integration of spiritual care within health care allows for helplessness to continue and to infect all aspects of care. The Center for Advancing Health (www.cfah.org) has an interesting paper on patient engagement that highlights some of these issues. It is our hope that we will begin to address hopelessness and other spiritual illnesses this year with some pilot projects. Until then, trust in possibilities.
Peace and grace,
Dan
Feeling helpless is not a good feeling for most of us. We talk a lot as health care professionals about the "sick role" and the actions of persons while they are ill. We talk (in usually a snarky way) about those persons who seem to thrive on being sick and attracting attention to themselves in this manner. Men are often generalized by society to be more helpless than women when sick - even with minor and common ailments such as colds or influenza. We make fun of big burly men laid low by microscopic organisms and being whiny and helpless while so encumbered.
What about those persons, thousands each week, who receive significant or life-limiting diagnoses? Those persons and their support systems are suddenly thrust into a new reality - one that includes dysfunctional physiology. Most adults are equipped to handle many things in life, we are ill equipped (un-equipped?) to handle the inability to effect a change back to a time without that diagnosis. We don't know how to not have cancer (for example). It really throws our world into chaos - and our worldview of immortality and invincibility is shattered.
How do we recover our empowerment and sense of moving forward - our wholeness? There is no pill to treat helplessness, that has to come (I believe) from an interaction with something or someone outside our worldview. Whether this be support groups, spiritual guidance, Stephen Ministry, one-on-one counseling, active participation in a faith community and the role of God in one's life, or all the above, we need some help to regain our balance. Those that do not regain balance find themselves less and less empowered and and tend to fall into a victim mentality.
We at Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org) believe that this is the weakness in our current health care system. A lack of integration of spiritual care within health care allows for helplessness to continue and to infect all aspects of care. The Center for Advancing Health (www.cfah.org) has an interesting paper on patient engagement that highlights some of these issues. It is our hope that we will begin to address hopelessness and other spiritual illnesses this year with some pilot projects. Until then, trust in possibilities.
Peace and grace,
Dan
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Connection
Today's post comes from the work that I do in running a 501c3 public charity. My work revolves around connecting to others to share the vision of Possibilities Journey, Inc (www.possjrny.org) to co-create a new and more integrated public health system. To do this we will be attempting to build on the success of Memphis' Congregational Health Network: https://secure.lebonheur.org/methodist/About%20Us/Faith%20and%20Health/Community. I strongly encourage you all to take a look at that link as it is a phenomenal program with tremendous potential.
To the topic at hand, however, connections are the life bood of who we are as people. None of us feels right when we're isolated. In fact, isolation and loneliness are two of the biggest spiritual aspects of illness that have been described. If you will, these issues are pandemic and if they were "bird flu" or H1N1, they would have sparked a flurry of activity to develop medicines to treat them. As it is, there are no "pills for these ills" and there is no outcry, because isolated and lonely people are not connected so they suffer in anonymity. It's really beyond tragic.
Without connections to others, and without relationships that are healthy and spiritually nourishing, our sense of well being decreases while our sense of brokenness increases. We become hermits who are ill-at-ease in almost any public situation. I had a conversation with a person yesterday who stated that even returning to church, while it felt "good", because this person was divorced and alone, there was a sense that this person should just huddle in a corner of the pew. Hmmm, lack of connection to a healthy community that could invite this fellow traveler into right relationship on the person's own merits, not on whether or not there was a spouse and family. Isolated in the midst of a 1300 member congregation - something's just wrong.
Right relationships heal, lack of right relationships destroy and alienate. How are we called as human beings to create right relationships that promote and provide health, wellness and wholeness? We at Possibilities Journey, Inc believe that it is the re-integration of faith communities into the public health system.
Consider your connections this week - are they strong and life-giving? If not, how are you called to create right relationships?
Peace,
Dan
To the topic at hand, however, connections are the life bood of who we are as people. None of us feels right when we're isolated. In fact, isolation and loneliness are two of the biggest spiritual aspects of illness that have been described. If you will, these issues are pandemic and if they were "bird flu" or H1N1, they would have sparked a flurry of activity to develop medicines to treat them. As it is, there are no "pills for these ills" and there is no outcry, because isolated and lonely people are not connected so they suffer in anonymity. It's really beyond tragic.
Without connections to others, and without relationships that are healthy and spiritually nourishing, our sense of well being decreases while our sense of brokenness increases. We become hermits who are ill-at-ease in almost any public situation. I had a conversation with a person yesterday who stated that even returning to church, while it felt "good", because this person was divorced and alone, there was a sense that this person should just huddle in a corner of the pew. Hmmm, lack of connection to a healthy community that could invite this fellow traveler into right relationship on the person's own merits, not on whether or not there was a spouse and family. Isolated in the midst of a 1300 member congregation - something's just wrong.
Right relationships heal, lack of right relationships destroy and alienate. How are we called as human beings to create right relationships that promote and provide health, wellness and wholeness? We at Possibilities Journey, Inc believe that it is the re-integration of faith communities into the public health system.
Consider your connections this week - are they strong and life-giving? If not, how are you called to create right relationships?
Peace,
Dan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
