Blurry Lines

In a community like this, the lines that separate one’s roles as

            - physician,

            - stand-in parent,

            - encouraging advocate,

            - listening friend …  

may become blurry.

Professional and social boundaries often direct us to define those lines of separation, and to remain aware of the “hat that we are wearing.”  However, life’s situations often make us realize that we are already wearing more than one:

            Sharing a seat on the bus with a frightened young man with special needs, who 
            had violently objected to his exam earlier in the day.

            Dressing up and participating in a play performed by the youngsters.

            Treating the broken arm of your own sponsor child, late on a Saturday night.

            Joining a group of teenage girls in their effort to cut the grass — with machetes.

            Embracing a 5 year-old — his forehead smudged after having received his Ash 
            Wednesday blessing from you — who, while still on the altar, asks you to recheck 
            his ear infection.

In writing about our connectedness to one another, Richard Rohr recognizes “the presence of the divine in literally ‘every thing’ and ‘every one’.”  Further, he describes the mysterious relationship between God and man by stating that “God is a mirror big enough to receive everything, and every single part of you,” . *  

We are also mirrors to those around us.  If our lives truly mirror our Creator to one another, we should put no limits on the light that shines among us.

There is a deep and peaceful beauty in living, working and being in a community where one does medical volunteering.  The beauty is that the blurring of the lines that separate our roles, in fact, arises from the softening of human relationships, and from the glare of the reflection of the Infinite.

* The Universal Christ, p.18,  p.228