When Crossroads Intersect

There is something to be said about pain. Not the physical kind necessarily, though that does deserve its own acknowledgement. I'm referencing emotional pain.

What is it about the capacity to wound without causing physical damage to another? How can we directly measure the level of pain we cause purposefully, much less inadvertently?

Do we worry about going through life intentionally trying to avoid pain? And can we grow as human beings without it?

I would argue pain is a byproduct of our capacity to love. When we love something or someone the last thing we want to do is hurt them, but in the end we might hurt them worse than anyone else.

It is in the midst of this pain that real growth happens. It is in the time of darkness that we truly grow to appreciate the light. I try and sit with this pain. Understand it. Acknowledge it and give it space to exist without judgement. What is my pain trying to tell me? How is pain in another manifested? Where do the two intersect?

If I cause you pain, is there a place where the mending makes us stronger?

Denora

The Space Between

Many things have changed recently, one of the most notable being my acceptance into a ten-week intensive CPE internship at Johns Hopkins. I can't say enough good things about the hospital's stance on religious pluralism, and how they incorporate spiritual health as a benchmark of overall health for the patient. Here's a bit from their homepage: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/pastoralcare/

Many people have asked me if it's an issue for me to exist in a primarily Christian institution (JHH has approximately 20% Catholic patients overall) and my answer is somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, I have willingly inserted myself into this system knowing that my spiritual beliefs fall into a minority category. However, for me the crucial piece revolves around the meaning of healing for the patient. If when I am praying with a patient and we have entered into a sacred space where our theological understandings meet, I feel the encounter holds positive merit. I do feel odd sometimes not disclosing my faith to patients. But then I have to ask myself, does that really matter? If we are all human and need love, and if I am bringing love to another person does it matter if I am doing it in the name of Jesus or the Goddess?

Blessings,

Denora