Beatitudes Community
Log in
Log in

Tag: thanks

Come to the Quiet

Tue, June 18, 2019 Published by

Sometimes we don’t realize how noisy our world is until we escape to a place of quiet.  The Desert Mothers and Fathers believed that silence and quiet prevents us from being suffocated by our wordy and noisy world.  They believed that there is more to silence than not speaking; it is more than the absence of sound.  It is that space we create within, that portable cell, of rest and peace that can stay with us wherever we go.  Madeleine L’Engle wrote a book called A Circle of Quiet in which she described how every so often she needed out—away from all those people she loved most in the world in order to regain a sense of proportion.  Her special place was a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet: “I go to the brook because I get out of being, out of the essential.  If I sit for awhile, then my impatience, crossness, frustration, are indeed annihilated, and my sense of humor returns.”

Here on the campus we searched a long time for that circle of quiet, that place to gather thoughts and create that space to help us regain perspective.  Thanks to the inspiration and persistence of some of our residents, we created such a space but it remains yet undiscovered by many.  Irene Cool has helped shepherd the creation of our Quiet Place and I share with you her invitation to visit it.

“Come to the Quiet, Bring Thoughts That You Gather.  This is our Quiet Place at the east-side front of the Life Center and across from Ms. Kimberly’s office. It is there for you and me and all others to go to be still, away and alone or with another. It is there for us to pray, say or simply listen. Our room is there for us to rejoice, to sing, to weep but mostly to just be somewhere and away…from noise, from chatter…a free place to speculate or fret.  Fragrance fills the silence and helps to call on memories and allows our imaginations of happy times and remembrances of comforting places. Soft aromas can calm, purify our souls and heal our bodies.

The fountain of running water, a gentle mantra, assures us of the power of life…a continuum. A great purifier calms our anxieties.  Candles may be seen as a focal point for silence and we can increase our focus and concentration by simple candle gazing…to be mesmerized. The Himalayan salt lamp gives off a soft pink light which brings again the peace of the room to the soul.  So all of you who live here, caregivers and others…when you will sometime want a minute to rest…come to the quiet and find your peace.”

The Songs We Are Called to Sing

Mon, May 13, 2019 Published by

Later this month, the parliament of Uganda is due to debate, and potentially pass, proposed laws designed to censor some of the country’s most prominent artists. The proposed regulations include vetting new songs, videos and film scripts prior to their release.  Musicians, producers, promoters, filmmakers and all other artists will also have to register with the government and obtain a license that can be revoked for a range of violations. Not surprisingly, the proposals have been condemned as an intrusion into artistic freedom, and interestingly, the proposed legislation has inadvertently sparked a global recognition of the actual influence of what they are seeking to restrict. It is nothing new for the arts to make those in positions of power and control feel uncomfortable, and yet the power of what is sung, and what we ourselves sing, is easily overlooked. It can give a voice to our deepest emotions – and it can help shape our whole approach to life. The Old Testament psalms reflect almost every human condition – anger, grief, despair, illness, desertion, betrayal, and often a deep desire to see justice done. But alongside the lament, we also find praise, thanksgiving and celebration. All life is seen in light of a God whose ways might be beyond our recognizing, but who is to be found even in the darkest of our days.

It was this ability to keep on singing about a liberating God which helped sustain many slave communities in this country during the evil of slavery. Their voices blended in harmony to reach out beyond the drudgery and the misery to a promised land ‘Way over Jordan’. The singing encouraged, motivated, and articulated an important truth which these people had grasped, and were eager to declare with robust passion. What song are we called to sing? Are we singing it, or have we been silenced into submission by those who would prefer not to hear? The Ugandan government might succeed for a while in controlling what’s to be sung. But the song of truth won’t be silenced forever. As Sam Cooke wrote; ‘There have been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long, but now I think I’m able to carry on. It’s been a long, a long time coming but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will’. May we all find in God the words to our songs, and the strength to keep singing.

 

H.A.L.T.: A Self Care Tool

Sun, March 17, 2019 Published by

One of the scriptures that is read in the beginning of Lent is about the temptation of Jesus by the devil for forty days in the wilderness. He was tempted with hunger, with power, and the need to prove who he was. Whether or not you believe this actually happened or whether you believe in a hoof and horns Satan or “Tempter” as he is also known, we cannot deny that temptation is very real in our experience of being human. Lent invites us to pay particular attention to our lives and seek self-knowledge. It is in understanding and acknowledging our limitations, our weaknesses, and the urges that have defeated us in the past, that we are better prepared to battle temptations. How do we react when we are struggling with injured pride, a wounded ego, fear of not being appreciated, or anger at being ignored?

One step we can take is to recognize when we are most vulnerable. The mental health and recovery-oriented fields use the acronym HALT which stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. When you ask yourself, “Am I hungry, angry, lonely, or tired right now?” it makes you stop and think about how you feel before you react to a situation. Each one of these four physical or emotional conditions, if not taken care of, leaves an individual vulnerable for relapse. Relapse for an alcoholic or addict means resumption of using alcohol or drugs to manage the discomfort, but even those of us not suffering from chemical dependency have our own forms of relapse (excessive gambling, eating, shopping, TV watching — to name just a few). Relapse may also show up as falling back into old beliefs about ourselves that result in feelings such as shame or guilt.

There is no getting away from sometimes feeling hungry, angry, lonely or tired so the more self- aware we are the better. Hunger, of course, describes the most obvious physical condition of lack of food but hunger can also point toward emotional needs: hunger for attention, for comfort, for understanding, or for companionship. Just as food takes care of our physical hunger, the solution to emotional hunger is community. Anger is a little more complex to understand. The way we express anger often takes destructive forms. We either turn anger against ourselves or against others. Anger can range from criticizing and belittling to name-calling and physical violence. Anger can also be like a repeated tape loop; in that case it’s called resentment. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous suggests that a person with resentment towards another pray for the other, that is, imagine all the good in life that we would like to have for ourselves to be bestowed upon the other person. You don’t have to call it prayer; choose a word that works for you.

Next in the HALT acronym is Lonely, which can be a frequent companion for some. It is similar to Hunger in that the solution is the same, namely community. The last of the HALT acronym conditions is Tired. We all have a tendency to ignore tiredness at times. Many of us do not get enough sleep and being tired, overloaded or overwhelmed can affect our well-being. HALT, is a practical tool for everyday living. Thanks to the people in Alcoholics Anonymous, where this acronym initially emerged, for using their experience to benefit us all.

We are One in the Body

Sun, July 15, 2018 Published by

Perhaps if you have travelled around the North of England, you may have seen the colossal sculpture pictured with this article. Not many sculptures become as famous as The Angel of the North, seen by an estimated 33 million people as they pass by each year. The Angel looms over the countryside for many miles around, with its 66ft tall body, and with its wingspan of 177ft. Its wings are angled 3.5 degrees forward to express what its sculptor Sir Anthony Gormley, called ‘a sense of embrace’ as he sought to create something ‘to serve as a focus for our evolving hopes and fears’.

Like so much of his work it is based on a cast of his own body. Gormley has said that he bases his work on casts of his own body because, as he put it, ‘it is the closest experience of matter that I will ever have and the only part of the material world that I live inside.’ He treats the body not as an object, but as a place, and in making works that enclose the space of a particular body tries to identify a condition common to all human beings.

We as individuals are embodied. Body, mind and spirit bound up together. The ancient creation narrative in the Book of Genesis pictures us as clay which has been breathed into life.

We now have a much fuller picture of that living clay. According to a generally accepted figure we are made of an astonishing 37.2 trillion cells, with each cell being formed of 100 trillion atoms. Each atom, each cell, busy being itself to combine in every more complex ways to form this being- which is you and me- which can feel and touch, see and hear, recognize right and wrong, and love and pray. No wonder the psalmist was impelled to cry out ‘I will give thanks unto thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well’ (Psalm 139, 13).

Maintaining a sense of awe and wonder in relation to our bodies helps to highlight those times when we fail to respect ourselves as created miracles made in the image of God. When we fail to have that same respect for the other 7.6 billion other walking-talking miracles of creation alive today, because of what they wear, or the color of their skin, or the politics that they ascribe to, then we are led to a very disturbing place indeed. The Apostle Paul put it very bluntly;

‘Do you not know that the body is a temple of the indwelling Holy Spirit?’

What a stark and much needed reminder to honor God in our lives and in the lives of others. May we all be open to the divine embrace as we evolve through our hopes and fears.*

Surrender Through Gratitude

Mon, April 11, 2016 Published by

Resident, Jane Malek, went in last Tuesday for an “evisceration” of her left eye. Basically, she had her eye removed from its socket and she will soon get a prosthetic eye to replace it. Jane made what is a difficult loss into an opportunity for gratitude. She had a going away party for her eye a few days before the surgery with a cupcake and a candle. She said, I wanted “to thank my eye for all the help it has been to me over the years and reminisce about all the great things it has helped me to see.” She also asked a former pastor of hers if he had an appropriate prayer she could use for the occasion. The Rev. Dr. Steve Wayles is now retired from a long career in ministry and social justice work, and he has given me permission to share this prayer which he wrote for Jane:

“Loving God – who sees us and all things in ways that we can only begin to comprehend, thank you for making us in your image – and for giving us the gift of our eyes to see. We know that we are mortal, and that we are temporary and that each part of our bodies functions miraculously, but for a time. So we thank you for the time that we have to live – and for the time that each of our intricate body parts does its job. Help us as each of those parts wears down or wears out to let it go with gratitude that we had it for so long. Help us to grieve the loss of each part or faculty, but keep us from any bitterness that might diminish our life or the gift we have enjoyed for so many good days. As Jesus said of his whole life, that which we must all one day pray, “Into thy hands, O loving God, I commend my Spirit,” help me now to say “Into thy loving hands, O God, who made and gave me this eye, I yield it back to you. Thank you for all it has helped me to see in my work of healing as a nurse, in my calling to be a good mother, in my beholding the people I love and have loved, in my seeing injustice so I could work on its correction, in beholding the beauty of your creation. Thank you. Now that its function has ceased for me – receive it back, with my thankfulness for all you have done for me through it, and in every other way. Help me to adjust and to see in new ways, until at last you receive me to yourself. In the name of Jesus who made the blind to see. Amen.” (copyright©. Used by permission)

Steve is considering writing a book of prayers of surrender and gratitude and I know those prayers, like this one, will give hope and comfort to many as we all experience losses of parts and faculties. And thank you to Jane for sharing how she is so graciously handling the surrender of her eye. *

Housekeeping Shout Out

Fri, April 1, 2016 Published by

housekeeper_appreciation_note_cardI would like to send a shout out and thank you to the Housekeeping Team!  I recently had a respite person leave at 2:30pm and someone new that was arriving at 3pm and the gals did an amazing job of getting in there and getting the room cleaned and ready for the next resident in record time. Thank you for all you do!  Submitted by Amy Richie, Assisted Living