A Tragic Opera Can it be a Source of inspiration

1
A Tragic Opera- Can it be a Source of
inspiration?

• Cancer
• and its decisive impact on human existence

2
A Tragic Opera with 6 Acts

• Suffering losses that bring grief
• Threatened by isolation from life and
  relationship networks
• Attacked by the hounds of fear
• Struggling with questions about guilt
• Thrown around by emotional struggles
• Battling with various types of pain

All acts are performed simultaneously!
3
Act 1 Suffering losses that bring grief

• Wellbeing / mobility / physical self-control
• Loss of dignity physical / mental / emotional
• Bodily strength
• Identity / control / decision making
• Relationships
• Work / security / social status / possessions
• Future
• Opportunities to make peace with God
• Ultimately, loss of own body

4
Act 2 Threatened by isolation from life and
relationship networks

• Dying is an individual process
• Social factors can contribute
• Nature of the disease can contribute
• Can experience isolation even when not so

5
Act 3 Attacked by the hounds of fear

• The nature and seriousness of the disease
• The future / re family / re finances
• Suffering and pain
• Dependence on others / Helplessness
• Being a burden
• Being alone / being abandoned
• Humiliation
• Not being able to cope emotionally
• Separation from loved ones / from God
• The unknown
• Punishment / judgment
• Losing mental capacities

6
Act 4 Struggling with questions about guilt

• Guilt is the consequence of breaking a law it is
  a judicial state, not a feeling
• Four types of guilt
• Personal
• Social
• Legal
• Theological
• Guilt about
• Bad things done
• Good things not done

7
Act 5 Thrown around by emotional struggles

• Denial ??
• Rebellion ??
• Negotiation ??
• Restlessness ??
• Anger ??
• Distrust ??
• Despair ??
• Disappointment ??
• Doubt ??
• Criticism ??
• Depression ??
• Bitterness ??

• Insight
• Surrender
• Acceptance
• Peace, clear conscience
• Meekness
• Trust in relationships
• Courage, hope
• Satisfaction
• Certainty, security
• Appreciation, gratitude
• Comforted, joy
• Reconciliation, forgiveness

8
6. Battling with various types of pain
9
The main aria - the song of the cancer sufferer

• Please draw a cancer history timeline from five
  years before you first noticed something was
  wrong right up to today
• Either from the patient perspective
• Or from the relative / friend perspective
• In this timeline show highs and lows where the
  cancer sufferer was facing various aspects of the
  six acts losses, isolation, fear, guilt,
  emotional struggles and pain
• Share this with one another in the discussion
  time asking What can we learn from this history?

10
Example Cancer History Timeline
1994
2000
1989
11
Possible extra activities

• You might want to expand a section of the
  timeline on another sheet of paper to show more
  details
• Write a poem about your time line
• Make a drawing / painting about your time line
• Write an essay about your time line
• What about a daily journal where you examine all
  six acts of the opera?

12
Discussion Time

• Share your Cancer History Timeline in the group
• Group members are not allowed to give comments or
  advice, only to ask clarifying questions.
• You might want to add some extra elements to your
  timeline
• Questions remind you of something
• Other stories remind you of something
• When the person has finished their own story,
  discuss What can we learn from this history?

13
Facing Death in the Tragic Opera

• Spiritual needs of those with cancer
• What about life after death?
• The second aria the experience of the survivors
• Group Discussions
• Plenary Feedback what we have learnt from one
  anothers experiences

14
7 basic spiritual needs of those with cancer

• Good relationship with God
• Good relationships with relatives
• Hope
• Meaning
• Purpose
• Life concluded with no loose ends
• Prepared for the transition

15
What about life after death?a Christian
perspective
Conception
Second coming of Christ
Birth
Death
Paradise
New heaven and new earth
Hades
Gehenna / Hell
16
How can we make sure our life after death is good?

• From a model developed by
• Dr Walt Larimore

17
The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is
eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6
23)
Lord
Jesus Christ
wages
gift
sin
God
death
eternal life
but
18
The second aria - the song of the relative

• Please draw a close relative/friend history
  timeline from five years before you first noticed
  something was wrong up to today
• Either from the patient perspective
• Or from the relative / friend perspective
• In this timeline show highs and lows where the
  relative / friend of the cancer sufferer was
  facing various aspects of the six scenes losses,
  isolation, fear, guilt, emotional struggles and
  pain

19
Discussion Time

• Share your Cancer History Timeline in the group
• Group members are not allowed to give comments or
  advice, only to ask clarifying questions.
• When the person has finished his / her own story,
  discuss What can we learn from this history? How
  can we sing better?

20
Plenary Feedback What have we learnt?

• Not allow work to ruin your life
• Doctors should learn to share the news about
  cancer in a better way
• Relatives are very important to cancer patients
• Give special attention to how the children
  experience the cancer of relatives
• Power of the Word of God if used in a good way
• People also go through the six acts in other
  traumatic situations divorce, sudden death of a
  loved one
• Sometimes cancer patients experience other
  situations (divorce / sudden death of a loved
  one) as more traumatic than their cancer
• Even if we do not have cancer, we need to prepare
  ourselves for death
• Live life to the full in any case
• All of us are going to die at some stage as we
  realize this it gives such a different
  perspective to life

21
Sing your aria to inspire othersin the tragic
opera of cancer
22
Make a whole person diagnosis

• Make a strengths / weaknesses evaluation of all
  relationships in the diagram

23
Work towards whole person wholeness

• Relating rightly to
• inner human,
• outer human,
• relationship network,
• environment
• transcendent
• Biblical concept that covers all these aspects
  Shalom

24
Paint a life of SHALOM

• Shalom touches all areas of life
• What it is
• The presence, blessing and peace of God
• Jesus Christ Himself
• Shalom continues all the way right through death,
  so it can always be our goal

25
What needs to be done about my spiritual needs?

• Good relationship with God
• Good relationships with relatives
• Hope
• Meaning
• Purpose
• Life concluded with no loose ends
• Prepared for the transition