THE SPEAKING TREE: Compassion, Care And Healing

When suffering strikes someone we knowor are acquainted with, inevitably, we find ourselves at a loss to deal with thesituation. We fight back the lump in our throat, march resolutely to the familyor the hospital bed to offer words of comfort. Even as we do so we are assailedby the futility of our efforts. But then, the sick do long for company. Thepatient and his dear ones may not look for miracles, but they certainly welcomequiet but soothing company. A hand to hold, an understanding look, anunconditional hug. "A shared lump in the throat", in the words of Dr Paul Brand.He recalls that in many an instance Jesus healed by a mere touch.While explaining the human anatomy to medical students Paul Brandwould talk a lot about the skin and the sense of touch. The skin, according tohim, is like the eye, a window to the world outside as well as within. On it weread the health of the activities within. Anaemia shows in the nails and skin,drawing a ghostly pallour across its victims. Jaundice yellows the skin while aform of diabetes shades it bronze. Lack of oxygen in the blood causes a purpletint. Skin also provides a window to the emotional world within. We have a loveaffair with the skin and our chief response curiously is to adorn it. We daub itwith shades and colours and support thereby a multi-billion dollar cosmeticindustry. Compared with other finely decorated animals, the human seems naked,vulnerable, incomplete. More than that of any other species, our skin isdesigned not so much for appearance as for relating, for being touched. And thisaspect of skin summons up the basic function of skin within the family of God.The analogy of the skin — soft, warm, touchable —conveys the message of a God who is eager to relate in love to His creation. Thesense of touch is the most alert of our senses when we sleep, and it is the onethat seems to invigorate us emotionally. Anthropologists have found that closephysical contact with the mother is essential to the normal development of younganimals. Except for man, all mammals spend great amounts of time licking theiryoung. Animals might even die if they are not licked after birth. Itwas Dr Fritz Talbot of Boston who first propounded the concept of tender lovingcare through touch for new-born babies. The Bellevue Hospital in New York, whichput her concept to test, made a rule that all babies should be picked up,carried around and mothered several times a day. The infant mortality rate thendropped from 35 per cent to less than 10 per cent. According to Paul Brand, skinnot only conveys information about the world, but also perceives basic emotions.Am I loved and accepted? Is the world secure or hostile? The skin osmoticallyabsorbs these concepts and the world view they provide. He writes that as wegrow older, skin offers us the most natural medium for communicating basicemotions such as love. The world''s needs are increasing day by day.Each day the newspaper brings to us reports of violence, war, fleeing refugeesand epidemics. The needs are so great that instead of shocking us into action,they make us callous, insensitive. While we may not be able to tackle all of theworld''s problems, we may start from where we are: Visiting prisoners, caring forthe HIV-AIDS affected; sharing time and memories with the elderly; mothering themother-less. Give generously of your healing touch. Begin at home and yourneighbourhood. Show that you care.