Saturday, January 12, 2013

Women's Work


Today I did anesthesia for a knee replacement in a patient with multiple comorbidities.
Although the surgeon was pleasant, due to the nature of the surgery--loud banging and saws--I was isolated at the head of the bed, catching up on my electronic and paper records. I am used to it, my being alone, being part of the team, being vigilant.

Because of my mother being ill, and my nana (Italian for grandmother) being picky at breakfast, I went to the bank, then to Mc Fast Food, and bought her french fries she loves. She would not wake up, but since she is deaf, I sat with her and held her hand. I also gave Reiki. It was so nice to just be and enjoy her. I asked a nurse on the way out if that was normal for her to sleep like that. She came in and spoke loudly to her, and got nana to open her eyes. But it had been a late night the night before. I left the fries, and the hambuger. (I did at first wave the fries under her nose to see if that smell would wake her up, no luck).

Then I wanted to help my sister clean mom's house. It's not far. I had been woken up at night with guidance to clean a particular cabinet. So four women went into the house and got to work. Two sisters, a daughter, and a close neighbor friend.

You know what? We bonded! It was the most pleasant day I have spent in a long time. Our mutual love for mother, and our wanting to make things more healthy for her moved us along. I volunteered for the fridge, because as a doctor I am the least squeamish.

I could feel the energy change in the house from illness and weakness to energy and Light!
We listened to music. I went out and bought dinner.

The combination of tasks and talking is the Goddess's Life Blood--it is what women have done for millennia. It is what nourishes us. To tend and to befriend is the code of women world wide.

On the way home I thought about the differences between my 'day job' and my 'job I had today'.

You know, when someone is an abuser they will isolate you.
The mechanical age led to 'affluence' and the loss of village life.
This in turn led to nuclear families in their own homes.
Then add to it, 'labor saving devices' to further separate the woman not only from her friends but from her contribution to Life--cooking, cleaning, and sewing were of value equal to the work of the man.
Consequently in the home there is no hearth. Only a television set.
Then bring women into the workplace, away from the home, which is neglected until the Saturday rush panic to clean.

Where is the heart? Where is the Nature? Where is the Nurture?

Is it on the chairs like in the picture? Is it at the computer screen as I type these words?

I think it is somewhere in the middle. The balance is what feeds Gaia's Heart and Natural Heartbeat of Energy that is optimum for our health and that of the planet. I hope you agree.

Namaste,

Reiki Doc