I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and using the toilet, doing my ‘jobs’ as my parents used to call them, when my father called me into his bathroom. I guess he too was doing his ‘ jobs’, which was surprising to me since at five-years old I thought only children had ‘jobs’ to do.

“Elizabeth, come quick!” he shouted.

I ran through my parents bedroom into their bathroom and looked out the window with him.

“What Daddy?” I excitedly asked.

“Look outside,” he pointed.

Out through the window, there it was. The sight I have never forgotten for over 25+ years.

One single red glowing beam of light. A red circle, moving slowly through the night. Not blinking, not fast. Just steady, red and aglow through the night’s sky.

Oh yes, I’m sorry I forgot to mention- it was Christmas Eve night. 

My eyes bulged out of their sockets. I turned immediately from my father’s grasp, ran through their bedroom, down the hallway and leaped into my bed, pulling the covers up over my head, in under 5 seconds flat.

At five-years old, I knew what that was. No one had to tell me what Rudolph’s nose looked light as it flew across the sky. No one had to remind me to go to bed immediately for fear of the fact that Santa could potentially pass right over my house. I was in the bed with the vision of Santa’s sleigh riding through the night air and onto my roof.

A vision I will never forget as long as I live.

So what’s this got to do with nursing?

What this story reminds me of is the wonder and awe of life, the very fact that there can be mystery. As my teachers’ Lissa Rankin and Rachel Naomi Remen reminded our tele-course this past week, healthcare has placed emphasis on mastery, often leaving mystery behind.

Think about your nursing career.

Have you ever had a patient who miraculously healed? Ever seen a mother just know that something was wrong with their child even though the tests and data showed otherwise? What experiences have you had that were certainly mysterious, that the science of healthcare just had no explanation for?

Instead of shying away from the mysteries of life: embrace them.

Go about your day looking for inspiration and surprise. What lights you up? What strikes awe inside of your being? What has you marveling at the beauty of life?

Nursing work can be hard; healthcare can be a challenge. Instead of focusing on the dreary drain of every day minutia, look for the light at the end of each tunnel.

Rather than explaining the mystery away, invite it in as a gift of lifelong learning. What questions do your mystery stories leave you with? How do those questions allow for a journey of a lifetime?

I’d love to hear your mystery story below! Feel free to share a comment, question, reflection or reaction. Enjoy your health today and every day. Thanks for reading!