“Offering Hope in the Midst of Doubt”

“When the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs for what it has found.”  Sufi Aphorism

“Hope is a powerful inner strength that helps one transcend the present situation and helps foster a positive belief or outlook.”   The beautiful thing about hospice work is that its very philosophy is about taking care of the whole person ~ body, mind, and spirit.  While it is the purview of our chaplains and social workers to care for our patients’ and families’ spiritual, mental, and emotional needs, what nurse, aide, or volunteer would not offer hope and reassurance when the need is so obvious! 

The great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s backyard.  ~ Abraham Maslow

At Amity Care Hospice, our entire staff ~ from our medical director to our volunteers ~ offers hope to those for whom we care.  “That hope may be for a time to finish important projects or goals, travel, make peace with loved ones or with God, and have a peaceful death.  This can result in a healing which can be manifested as a restoration of one’s relationships or sense of self.  Often our society thinks in terms of cures.  Whereas cures may not always be possible, healing—the restoration of wholeness—may be possible to the very end of life.   Patients who are hopeful tend to be less depressed.”  (Principles and Practice of Palliative Care and Supportive Oncology by Ann M. Berger, John L. Shuster, Jamie H. Von Roenn)

Listen to your life.   See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.  Touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are sacred moments and life itself is grace. ~ Frederick Buechner