As I lay in bed at 4 am this morning, reflecting on the difficult life journey of a colleague, the following thoughts came to me and I hope you don't mind me sharing them.
Perhaps the most profound thing any of us do, as fellow humans, is to sit in the darkness with another.
No magic wands
No silver bullets
Just to sit and to be
Some pains run so deep there are no words
For those of you in the darkness, please know that you are not alone.
For those of us privileged to sit awhile with another, never let us forget how important this can be. How simple things, like an appropriate touch, can make a difference.
Stay safe. Be kind to yourself and to others.
Merry Christmas
Follow up: Following on from this morning's musings and mindful of a reflection about (not) "feeling the need to switch on the light" I thought I'd share the following words. I have always been taken by the last two sentences, especially when "all" you seem to be doing is sitting in the darkness.
"Every bit of light, every small gesture is needed. It is not our task to judge the worthiness of our own light or even to know if it is seen. We are too quick to measure our lives by dramatic moments, too ready to minimize the light that we shine into the small darkness of everyday life. It is not given to us to know who is lost in the darkness that surrounds us. We can only know that against even the smallest lights, darkness cannot stand. A sailor lost at sea can be guided home by a single candle. A person lost in the wood can be led to safety by a flickering flame. It is not an issue of quality or intensity or purity. It is simply an issue of the presence of light."
-- Kent Nerburn –
Dr Wendy Burton
Christmas Day, 2016
Originally published on the private Facebook group, GPs Down Under
