When Bread is Enough

In one hospital filled with refugee children, the nursing staff discovered that in spite of the fact the children were well fed and cared for, when bedtime came, the war-torn and orphaned children would begin to toss and turn, unable to fall asleep, as if they were too afraid. 

 

A friend and colleague of mine was the staff psychologist. He soon discovered the children were remembering how in the past they were often going to bed alone and hungry and would have to wake up alone and hungrier. In the depths of their subconscious, they were fighting sleep because they did not want to experience that hunger again. 

 

My colleague instructed the nurses to give each of the children a slice of bread when they went to bed. The children were told not to eat the slice of bread they had been given. If they became hungry they were to go to the  nurses station and they would be given something to eat. But that particular slice of bread, the children were to hold on to it as they went to sleep,

 

It worked. When the children were sure, in the very depths of their being, there would be enough food for tomorrow, every child went peacefully to sleep. 

 

The "teachable moment" is knowing that children, and perhaps we adults, can know peace and serenity when we have the confidence that our basic needs are not being threatened. To experience wholeness and wellness, physically, emotionally and even spiritually is to be able to thrive and not just survive. 

 

And then, of course, there is "chapter two." The refugee camps along our southern border, filled with children, living in tents, a blanket and eating what little rations that are given to them by their "hosts." And what is the prevailing problem in these camps? The children. They're not sleeping.