ArticleBlog | A Chaplain’s reflection: Diamond encounters
A Chaplain’s reflection: Diamond encounters
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 26.12.23
Perhaps contrary to expectation, a lot of living happens within a hospice setting. After all, dying is part of living and for a lot of people, the desire to live a full life in a finite amount of time becomes paramount. It might not look like the kind of living that people without a life-limiting illness might aspire to. However, by the time I meet most patients, the ‘swimming with dolphins’ item on the bucket list is well past being organised. Instead, there is often an awareness that life is indeed limited and a new ‘bucket list’ is formed, considering what is important now. Examples of this might be spending quality time with family or being helped outside in the garden. This, for some people, is living their best life with what they have now.
My privilege as a chaplain is meeting people and hearing their life stories and insights into life. They talk about everything, from telling family stories to sharing their joys and fears. For some, the telling of stories to a ‘stranger witness’ is a chance to be seen. It is an attempt at being held as they remember and an opportunity to reflect on the life that has been lived. Sometimes these narratives lead to times of exploration of existential and spiritual concepts, leading towards finding the meaning of the life that has been, and potential hope for what might come next. These moments of someone baring their deepest beliefs are precious as the human soul exposes its reasons for being.
