Surfing the Waves

This week I had the opportunity to watch a very moving protocol for trauma care in the Emergency Department where I work. A voice came over the intercom, clear and calm: "Full trauma arrival ETA 15 minutes." And progressively the announcement went until, "Full trauma arrival now. All hands on deck." 

Wheeled from the ambulance into the ER receiving hallway was a person on a stretcher with a neck brace, eyes closed, injuries obviously sustained. The normal chatter of the ER silenced, as all direct-care personnel stopped what they were doing, arrived and circled around the patient, three rows deep. All were alert, quiet, waiting at full attention while the charge nurse and ER doctor stepped in and began the assessment. We listened as call outs to appropriate care specialists were made and the newly formed team stepped forward to begin life saving measures. You could have heard a pin drop. 

A palatable reverence swept through the Emergency Room. From my station, I came back to my breath and began offering Metta.* I suspect I was not the only one. An elderly man poked his head out of his room and looked on with wide eyes. Within minutes the patient was whisked out of ER towards the operating room.

I was filled with a sense of awe for the fragility of life and those who are willing to step forward, ready to offer whatever supports life. Imagine if we could learn a similar protocol whenever we are witness to a person's decline, "Full trauma arrival now. All hands on deck." Imagine if we stopped everything we were doing and gravitated toward the one in need with full attention and an open heart, ready to give of ourselves. Imagine if we touched a deep reverence in moments of decline, realizing this truth--life is fragile, and we are only here for a precious amount of time. Can I be gentle with myself and others? Can I help repair injury? And if not, can I offer pure attention, in awe and reverence? 

Looking around the ER at the faces of caregivers, I went away from the experience gratefully inspired, uplifted and sobered. Everyday we ride the balance between birth and death, only most of the time we're totally unaware. Precious, precious life teaches ~ everything changes, constantly, dramatically and in ways barely perceptible. When full remembrance of this truth is practiced, we can surf the waves...up and down....beside one another.  

* Metta - practice of wishing well for another, said to naturally arise in the face of extreme suffering. Metta describe the feeling of care one actively engenders toward another. It is said to be the most natural state of who we truly are and can be compared to prayers for the benefits of all beings.