Today's theme is about healing.
February 2006
Our hospitals, both general and psychiatric, are hopeful havens for suffering mankind. They also constitute the signs that pain and misery form an integral part of the human condition. It would be wonderful if the time came when we had no more need for hospitals and medicines, but this will never be realised.
Pain and suffering, both physical and mental, and ultimately death, are going to remain with us. A right attitude to these “problems” will be helpful for myself and in my dealings with the sick.
Today I would like to mention just one aspect of this “problem”. It seems to me that the people with the best attitude towards sickness and death are people who are actually seriously sick or faced with imminent death. The old saying was that God never allows you to bear a cross without giving you the strength to carry it. In the hospital or the hospice, the calmest and the most peaceful persons around are generally the sick and the dying. Visitors, though very welcome, are inclined to bring anxiety and worry and come with a mission to bring comfort and reassurance to the patient.
What actually happens is that it is the patient who ends up reassuring and consoling the visitors! This can be hard work for the patient and can leave him/her exhausted. The sick and the dying have a “cross” to carry but are given the “strength” to carry it. They generally receive an acceptance and understanding towards their situation, which is not easily put into words, if at all. They receive a “revelation” from God, which changes the heart and the soul rather than enlightening the mind. This allows them to accept an otherwise impossible situation without anger or resentment. They can be at peace without being able to explain exactly why. (Of course, the unfailing care, concern and helpfulness of nurses and physicians are also great conduits for God's grace).
I think that we have a lot to learn from the sick and the dying. When we visit them our attitude should be that of “one who goes to the well to draw water”. Rather than trying to be the teacher and give clever explanations, which invariably sound facile, we should come with the attitude of receiving and learning.
We should feel honoured to be in the presence of a person who is facing the ultimate challenge and coping with it.