Losing the Self In my work as a chaplain, I have more than once borne witness to the agony of young adults losing their minds to psychosis. At times, they are convinced nothing is wrong, that the voices, the confused thoughts, the threatening visions are more real than the professionals who would deny their truth. This does not mean these young people are content. Living with someone else’s words in your head can be disconcerting, and also terrifying. If you do realize that the person you call “myself” is slipping away, it can be even more terrifying. How heartbreaking to become your own stranger. One moment, we are trusting in…
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Fairness and the Need to Repair the World
It’s All the Same In my work as a chaplain, I often meet with patients who are suffering. Many are trying to come to terms with a sudden, debilitating illness. Young parents dying of cancer wonder how they will bear to leave their families. Homeless patients, still convalescing, end up back on the streets, scrabbling for assistance that can’t be found. Over and over, people tell me that it isn’t fair. They’re right, of course. Everyone knows life isn’t fair. So we invent stories to ease our pain. There’s a reason this happened, we might tell ourselves. We need to learn something, or God has something better in store for…