The Wiz
In the updated version of the Wizard of Oz, The Wiz staring Michael Jackson,
Dianna Ross and Nipsy Russell we find an urban look into the story told from a
different point of view.
The Wiz
didn't give them anything and stood there with nothing to help them deal with
why they had come to see him. They had done all this for nothing.
Sometimes you will not be able to give a tangible gift to the patient you are
serving. In my chaplain visits I have had many patients who cannot engage
in regular communication that I am used to.
I find that some severe Alzheimer's patients just cannot comprehend the
gift of helping, a gift or mint to lighten their day. Sometimes things are different, 'Like the
Wiz' In my journeys of care giving I
have had patients who knew exactly what they wanted to say yet, they could not
get the words out of their mouth to relay the thought to me. This was so frustrating to them that it
brought much anxiety to them and I felt the responsibility of causing angst
instead of soothing their mind with my visit.
There are times that you will not be able to give them the gift that you
long desire to offer but you may be able to offer them something more.
The offer of non material gifts are
important in life as we go along the way. Gifts such as patience,
presence, a pause of silence in order for the patient to process the task at
hand or the words just spoken. These
gifts are so important to the patient that we cannot measure their worth to the
relationship we are building. Knowing
that everyone is not suited for the naturally comfortable setting that we are
comfortable with is part of offering real love for our patients. Some of the patients we serve are
comfortable with the loud TV going in the background. You may have a patient that is running a
race, like one of my recent patients who wanted to walk around the nurses
station several times a day, if he could.
Luis was into sports in a big way in his life, he had run many marathons
and felt very comfortable in the sports conversations and debates. Looks different than most hospice patients,
but this was a different life that I respect and cared for deeply. These gifts are sometimes only realized
through my conversation with the patient or someone who has known them for most
of their life. This person can help me
to understand why they react a certain way, if I can detach from my own
familiar life for a moment, I will find out where home is for that
patient. Loving them enough to
understand how to bring personal comfort can solve many issues in my challenge
to offer support.
There are also metaphysical gifts that we
can learn to lean on in order to inspire hope in a hopeless person.
Such as the love of God, the developing nature of our existence, and how the
attitude can affect each day. These supports for offering care are
much more important than even the things that we write in their chart.
Life on life care means more than just maintaining hygiene by washing a person,
or assisting someone out of the bed so that they can sit up in the kitchen and
eat breakfast.
The life upon
life care is an intimate exchange of presence which speaks volumes of love,
affirmation, care, assurance and actual, not virtual, 'connectedness' to the
world around them. You testify to the person that you are caring for that he/she is a real person who
was created by God for the purpose of living in this world. You relay to them that they are offering to
the world value in every breath breathed and every sense felt. God
operates on this level many times and places value on each life by extending
His own image upon those lives in the world.
Psalm 139: 15 says, "My frame
was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of
the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of
them came to be."
This ancient song in the pages of
scripture helps us to remember that God has been and is aware of our presence
before we were born. Much of our
existence in the world is consumed with how productive we are but God is aware
of us when no one else offers support.
He offers his affirmation to the person who can no longer offer the
conventional type of contribution to society.
God's love is shown to them in His Word and we can express that same
love to the patient as a gift as we lean upon the metaphysical gift that we
have from God.
This verse of scripture also informs
us of the purposeful intention that goes into the makeup of our lives. The psalmist understands that God has a specific purpose for us even before we are born into this world. "I was woven together in the depths of
the earth". Being born into the
world is an act which is orchestrated by God himself with intent from beginning
to the end. The illustration of weaving
something together is not the act of an unintentional mishap but the idea of
creativity, sure thought and purpose.
Many people try to comprehend the productivity of a person by
understanding what they can do or how they can think but God ordains a birth in
the gift of conception and initiates the first act of another actor for a
certain purpose and need. Only God knows
the specific purpose of every baby born and only He can direct that child to
the place where his/her gifts can be put into use for the solution to a certain
need.
Just like the Wiz offers a different
take on the same old story, each and every person born comes with a tailored
makeup to offer us a customized understanding of the world around us. The Wiz turned out to be a man who was so
self-conscious that he did not even want to come out in public at Oz and risk
falling under the judgment of those who looked up to him. This rendition of the Wizard of Oz promotes
the fact that we are all made a certain way.
Believing that you are made a certain way and accepting that as OK is important in every care giver's life.
Life is a lot about realizing who you are
and celebrating your gifts by using them to help others. The Wiz didn't give them what they wanted
because he never had it to begin with not even for himself. Remember what Glinda the Good told Dorothy
at the end of the story, "You always had the power, my dear, you just had
to learn it for yourself." When you learn/accept yourself, you can accomplish many things. Make your time count by doing what you do best.
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