ANNA BOWNESS-PARK
Poverty and social isolation are among the top reasons for ill health, according to a study from the Canadian Medical Association in 2013. How to resolve that is the subject of intense political and social debate. Rarely is the positive role of faith or religious institutions included in the discussion. Yet, one Victoria group on the cutting edge of addressing that question is the Oasis Society for Spiritual Health.
“Oasis is a safe place to come and learn about living in community, to reconnect, to belong,” says society director Margaret O’Donnell. Their vision statement describes their work succinctly: “Oasis works with homeless and newly housed people to create a shared and inclusive spiritual community for the mutual well-being of all.”
Margaret has learned lessons from those on the margins of society that could teach us a better model for establishing healthier communities.
“People are looking to belong,” she says. “They yearn for connectedness and reconnection with their families, but they don't know how. Here at Oasis, they can begin to learn what it means to have a sense of community with family meals, time for sharing stories, disappointments and successes. They learn it is their own willingness to go on a spiritual journey that builds relationships with others and with themselves.”
Margaret shared one touching story as a perfect example. “Some time ago, one of us found a man just lying under the bushes. His life had collapsed. We reached out to him. Gradually, rebuilding began, and a question arose: Who cares for this man more than we do? His mother,” Margaret realized, and went in search for her.
“This mother was overjoyed to reconnect with her son from whom she’d been separated for many years. Her embrace connected him to his most original self, and gradually to his huge extended family. He began to find confidence, healing and a return to health.”
I asked Margaret what she sees in a person such as this man. “I see an opportunity to be transformed. In this man, I recognize the capacity that is in me to survive collapse, to forgive, and to begin again. In this place — Oasis — I am discovering the meaning of compassion and of how to listen and be present. Those we reject because of our fears have a rich lesson to teach us. In my earlier years, I might have thought it was me who was doing something for them — but later I learned that it is they who are doing something for me. They are teaching me who I am and how to put my intelligence at the service of my heart.”
It seems to me this sense of separation is really about a deeper sense of spiritual separation — alienation from the Divine — that many feel. And its outward appearance often appears as physical and mental illness, addiction and isolation.
Jesus told a parable of a young man who left his family for adventure. However, a time came when — having nothing left — he, like the man under the bushes, had lost all hope. He felt that disconnection deeply. But going home to his father, and feeling the warm embrace and acceptance as a son, healed that breach. The father never saw him as anything less than a beloved son — no alienation. It seems that’s the way Margaret sees people. Her profound Christian approach fosters that restoration, bringing healing to both mind and body. This forgotten sense of wholeness — of being at one with the Divine — is actually what we all yearn for. And, it’s at the root of our health.
The Oasis Society for the Spiritual Health of Victoria is a non-profit society and registered charity, founded in 2006, and governed by a board of directors who appoint its executive director.
Anna Bowness-Park is a Christian Science practitioner, writing frequently on the relationship between consciousness and health, and how prayer can play a role. You can follow her blog at anna-bownesspark.ca.
