Creating 'sacred space' in healthcare

In the epilogue of their recent book, Sacred Space—Right Relationship and Spirituality in Healthcare, authors Stephen G. Wright and Jean Sayer-Adams discuss the spiritual dimension of "right relationships" in healthcare and in our own lives. They observe:

"Bringing the heart and soul into caring relationships, be they at home or work, is achievable. It is not an impossible dream. Organizations, teams, and individuals can actively transform the context of care into a sacred space. We can do so by creating 'caring for the carers' approaches at all levels. We can do so by examining and adjusting the resources and systems that support caring relationships. We can do most powerfully by attending to our own spiritual path, being in the world in ways which nourish and support ourselves and others....

"And the end of all this journeying? It is to arrive at a great truth, that the sacred has never been far away. Mother Meera (1991) reminds us that everything is available to us; we just have to ask for it. What our heart has sought was not a distant goal to be pursued across the globe in ashrams or monasteries or the tops of mountains or deep in the ocean. It was, is, right here, right now—we just had to wake up to it, to nudge our consciousness into seeing the world and ourselves as the sacred space we have always been. In changing our consciousness, we can change our actions. This is the real, moving power available to transform that which is around us to be the same as that which is within us. Right relationship within and without, evolving to the point where there is no in or out, just here, now."

Reprinted from Sacred Space—Right Relationship and Spirituality in Healthcare
by Stephen G. Wright and Jean Sayer-Adams

©2000 by permission of the publisher Churchill Livingstone

BOOK DESCRIBES HOCKEY DAD'S COMPASSIONATE VIEW

John Freeman of The Boston Phoenix recently reviewed a book by Jay Atkinson entitled Ice Time: A Tale of Fathers, Sons, and Hometown Heroes. Freeman notes, "... it's amazing how much tenderness and insight Jay Atkinson brings to ... his book about returning to the game at the age of 42.

"For Atkinson, a former high-school goalie who's now the father of a budding player, hockey is not just a pastime, it's a way of life.... Hockey was Atkinson's connection to friends and to his father, a bond he lyrically depicts: 'I picture my dad in the bleachers, wearing the blue-plaid Nova Scotia tam he always brought to my games. It's the very early hours of the morning—there's nobody in the rink except the players and a few parents— and he's sitting there blowing on the hot edge of his tea and watching us limber up.... It was always good to have him there: my witness.'

"... Although [Atkinson] clearly wants his son to play well, it's also evident that, like all fathers, he's desperately trying to pass on to his son a childhood as happy and memorable as his own."

John Freeman
"Goal tender—One man's passion for the puck"
The Boston Phoenix
January 11, 2002

Love cited as key component in business relations

" 'In the face of war and recession, what the business world needs is less greed—and more love.' So says Yahoo senior executive Tim Sanders....

"Sanders defines love as: 'Love is the act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your knowledge, networks, and compassion with your business partners. The secret to being a high-impact leader and the essence of individual and corporate success:

" 'Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can and share your knowledge aggressively; expand your network of people who share your values and connect as many of them with each other as possible; and, perhaps most important, be as openly human as you can be and find the courage to express genuine emotion in the harried, pressure-filled world of work. And one last point: Behave this way not because you expect something in return—a quid pro quo—but because it's the right way to behave. The less you expect in return for acts of professional generosity, the more you will receive.' "

Fast Company
February 2002
www.fastcompany.com

HUMILITY REQUISITE IN NEW AMERICAN PLURALISM

"Televison Journalist Bill Moyers, speaking [in January] at the LBJ Library, exhorted Americans to save democracy after the September 11 attacks by working for humility amid growing religious pluralism and said they should join the loyal opposition if greedy politicians try to keep doing their corporate-financed business as usual.

" 'Religion may well replace race as the most predominant issue facing the 21st century,' he said. 'We're entering a new religious landscape in this country. In pluralistic America, what faith requires is humility.' "

Dick Stanley
"Faith in democracy is crucial, Moyers says"
The Austin American-Statesman
January 5, 2002