At an early point in life, if Ihad bandied the battle cryDont Wait, or Carpe Diem,I would have been branded as ayouth or young upstart. In fact, Idid and I was. But, as my hos-pice career comes to an end, Iam still crying the same watch-words, Dont Wait, andCarpe Diem.If there has been one lesson Ihave learned from the dying, alesson they impressed on me tohear and preach from the highestmountains, it has been: Time isshort and life is long, live in themoment and be in love witheverything and everyoneasmuch as you are able.I am sure that having a grandpersonality does not hurt inadopting this somewhat hedo-nistic perspective, but really thatis not what is at the core of the cryof the dying. What the dyingreally call forth in us is: life canend at any moment and we maynever have a chance to run thetapes again or backtrack andcorrect some scene.We may have to live with theidea that this moment is the finalmoment.That is sort of sobering. Whatis difficult, is to live that on adaily basis as a long-term, life-long commitment. It is sustain-able for the terminally ill overmonths and perhaps greaterparts of years or two, but dailyfor life is a deeper commitmentthan most can hold a vision for.I would have to say, though,that this is what they are clam- bering to teach us. Those who aredying want us to get it aboveall things else in life: Time isPrecious, Dont Waste It. Youmay have no other chance.You know I have found onepractice finer than all others thatI have learned from the dying. Ilove to close my eyes facing intothe breeze and feel it on my face,smell it in my nose, and hear it inmy ears. I really have learned tofeel all of the mental and socialconstructs I operate under on aregular basis, to fall aside andlose all meaning in the face of thewind.Taxes mean nothing to me inthe face of the wind. My kids latepizza money for school lunchmeans nothing to me in the faceof the wind. My familys crazypatterns of dysfunction meannothing to me in the face of thewind.I am seriously not advocatingfor abdicating all responsibility. Iam advocating recognizing thatwhat, on first blush, appears to be vital and important, may infact be not at all vital and orimportant. What I am advocatingfor, as well, is that those whowork with the dying need to helppeople see how CRITICAL theseissues are.There is a blessed idea in theTalmud that calls us to build ahedge around the TORAH. Thissense of building a hedge aroundthe TORAH is to keep it safe, setit apart and establish it as sacred.It is to make sure it is revered.I am suggesting the same forthe message of the dying. Build ahedge around the key value thedying teach us: Everythingpasses away, pay attention.Make sure that you are alert towhat is important at the moment.Bringing this value into ourlives and business is not onlyrisky, but it is costly. When we begin to recognize the value of the apparently invisible assets inour lives, we begin to make tradeoffs of dollars for meaning. There
1Healing MinistryVolume 15, Number 1, Winter 2008
Never Wait
Father Dn. Thomas Johnson-Medland, CSJ, OSL
Father Dn. Thomas Johnson-Medland, CSJ,OSL, Lighthouse Hospice, Cherry Hill,NewJersey.
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