As I have mentioned in recent posts, I have been participating in a online class integrating art and monastic values through Abbey of the Arts. The class is nearly over and one of our assignments was to write an "instructional poem" in the spirit of Wendell Berry's "How to be a Poet". It was to be a reminder to myself of how I want to approach my spiritual/creative vocation. As are most, I consider this poem to be a gift given to me, not because I am worthy of it or talented. Rather, it is a call to me. Perhaps in sharing it with you, it will call to something in you...not that you need to be a psychologist :-) but it may call to something that will aid you in your journey to being you.
how to be a psychologist
get out of bed and
wash your face with gratitude.
open your heart and
gaze upon God’s face
that you might
recognize him
when later you see
him at your door.
take care of
yourself: eat breakfast, drink tea.
allow time to pray
and reflect.
try not to be late.
bless whatever
workspace you have been given.
bless the chairs, the
pens, the paper,
the very air you will
breathe
and remember that
this place is to be
a garden where grace
and healing can grow.
when the suffering
one arrives,
greet him at the door
with kindness, whatever his state.
remember that he
comes because he is lost
and that he looks to
you for hope.
be gentle and listen
with care.
do not worry if you
do not know what to say.
there may be no words
or there may be many.
keep your heart open
and your mind tranquil.
there is One greater
than you at work here.
when the gift has
been given through you
be ever grateful to
the suffering one
for allowing you to
walk with him.
do not dread overmuch
the documenting you must do,
for you are writing
the sacred stories
that perhaps no one
else will ever hear.
allow yourself to
feel their sadness
and do not run from
the confusion and fear they hold.
embrace them with a
reverence
as you would the
wounds of the Savior –
for indeed, that is
what they are.
now, go home. rest.
write poems, paint
pictures, play music.
express and share the
truth you have learned
that one day the
world may come to understand.
