Saving Your Life

Today's post comes from the introduction of Barbara Brown Taylor's book, "An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith". One sentence struck me forcefully yesterday and has been resonating ever since. She is discussing being invited to preach by a fellow Episcopal priest and when she asked what it was she was to preach on the answer was, "come tell us what is saving your life now". Wow, how's that for a comeuppance?! How would you respond to that question? I've been discerning about that for 24 hours and though I've got some ideas, I haven't quite hit on a true answer. For Christians, this is a time in the liturgical year where we are supposed to be moving toward the new covenant from G-d through Jesus. The Resurrection is certainly a life saving event when it is fully lived, but is that what is saving my life now? I've been in the life saving biz for more than two decades now. My professional career as a pharmacist in the intensive care environment has lead me many times to be called upon to intervene and forestall death. So from that perspective, I have some experience as a "life saver". However, the dark side of that work has been that I've also played a role in the creation of that world of the un-living known as the "persistent vegetative state". A purgatory of not living yet not dead that characterizes the technological advances in healthcare that outpaces our morality and ethics. Preservation of "life" (in this case meaning organ function rather than sentient, interactive life) is paramount. The dreaded outcome for us caring health workers is to resucitate someone only to find that irreversible damage has been done to the brain. The higher cortical area (what makes us "us") is no longer functioning and only the autonomic functions of breathing and heart beat remain. My spiritual awakening has helped me to deal with the burden of these individuals on my psyche. It has also helped me realize that I can no longer just help to create these un-living. I need to work proactively to prevent this outcome whenever possible through Advanced Directives and honest, caring conversation and relationship. Re-integrating faith into health care and faith communities into the broader public health system, I believe, will help me to accomplish this mission. Re-integrating a faith which promises that G-d does not abandon us, and that there are promises about a future beyond this life, offer a narrative that is healing and compassionate in the face of death and "un-living". What is saving my life now? It's working on what I believe is my call to create healthy relationships in healthcare and offer options to the "do everything" mentality that has created our current dysfunctional system. What's saving your life? Something to ponder as we all move forward. Peace for the journey, Dan