Month: September 2017

[su_quote]I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. -- Philemon 1:20 (NIV) [/su_quote]]]>

My father, Young Hyun Jung, passed away on September 4th, 2017, finishing his long journey of 83 years through this world. His soul, I believe, has left his long-worn body to join his ancestors. I also believe I will meet him again in the Kingdom of Heaven. The funeral was held on September 8, 2017. His body was cremated and his ashes were placed at the family burial site in Gumi, a city in southern part of Korea, near where he was born. Many people remember Dad as a quiet person. He usually did not speak much, sometimes embarrassingly so, especially when we had guests at home. He loved buying books and he read a lot. He was often seen scribbling notes page after page. So I think he had lots of ideas although he rarely spoke in length about what he had in mind. [su_quote]"For language to have meaning, there must be intervals of silence somewhere, to divide word from word and utterance from utterance. He who retires into silence does not necessarily hate language. Perhaps it is love and respect for language which imposes silence upon him. For the mercy of God is not heard in words unless it is heard, both before and after the words are spoken, in silence." -- Thomas Merton [/su_quote] While reading about Thomas Merton and his remarks on silence, I was reminded of Dad and I came to think that keeping one’s mouth shut unless critically necessary while giving focused attention to what others have to say is a virtue. ]]>

mereorthodoxy.com [/su_quote] ]]>

제가 좋아하는 의사 겸 저술가 아툴 가완디(Atul Gawande)의 “어떻게 죽을 것인가(Being Mortal)”을 예전에 인상 깊게 읽었습니다. 이 책에서 말하길 의사들은 병을 고치는 훈련을 전문적으로 받는 반면 죽음을 어떻게 맞이할지 돕는 훈련은 일반적으로 안 되어 있어서 더 이상 손쓸 수 없는 환자와 그 보호자를 대하는 것이 서툴다고 하더군요. 겪어보니 그런 면이 있는 것 같았습니다. 해결이 요구되는 의학적 문제를 상대하는 것과 그 문제에 시달리고 있는 사람의 마음을 상대하는 것은 서로 다른 듯 합니다. 전자는 의사, 후자는 간호사에게 각각 맡겨진 전문 영역인 것 같기도 합니다. 어찌되었건 직업으로서의 온갖 혹독한 어려움을 견디면서 사명감으로 일하는 의료전문인들에게 감사한 마음입니다. ]]>