China News Service, Hangzhou, August 11 (Reporter Huang Hui) "Every life needs to be cared for, so we do not analyze, judge, or define, it is love and companionship." Executive Director of China Life Care Association, Beijing Fang Shugong, secretary-general of Shifangyuan Foundation and co-founder of Beijing Shifangyuan Spiritual Care Center for the Elderly, said that by accompanying the elderly, he can truly understand what life really wants, so as to live a better life. This is filial piety. the power of.
A little bit of light, gathered into a torch.
With this love and company, over the past 12 years, his infection has led more and more institutions and individuals across the country to devote themselves to the spiritual care of the critically ill and dying. Now he can serve 40,000 people every year, allowing them to complete their final journey in peace and harmony.
A few days ago, the Organizing Committee of the China Filial Piety Culture Festival announced the list of "2022 Chinese Filial Piety Figures/Groups", and Fang Shugong was selected.
Thoughts under special circumstances: Resolutely change the course of life
If the original trajectory of his life has not changed, Fang Shugong may still be a worker in the aerospace industry, doing his beloved aerospace work and living a stable life step by step.
But 12 years ago, the encounters he faced one after another hit his heart and made him resolutely change the course of his life and plunge into the cause of spiritual care for the elderly.
One day in 2010, Fang Shugong went to visit a friend who was working in a nursing home, and happened to encounter such a scene: An old lady Liu, who was in her 90s in the nursing home, chose to leave on a hunger strike because her son had just passed away a few days ago. No matter how others tried to persuade him.
When the crowd gradually dispersed, Fang Shugong was still standing at the door.
Later, Mrs. Liu called him into the house to sit down.
Sitting quietly beside him, at the request of the old man, he played "The Song of Fishing Light".
Listening to the old song, Mrs. Liu recalled the many difficulties she encountered when she was young, crying, humming, and opening her heart to recall the past.
"Young man, why don't you ask me for a bowl of porridge. Although my health is very bad, and my child is gone, but I have a pension and your company, I believe I can live the last winter of my life well. ."
This is the first time Fang Shugong intuitively feels the power of companionship.
"I didn't do anything, I just stayed with me quietly, but I have so much power."
A later encounter also became one of the important turning points in Fang Shugong's life.
He once went to visit an old man who was dying.
In the eyes of outsiders, this old man had a very perfect life, but at the last moment of her life, she said that she didn't think so, and if there was an afterlife, she would choose another life.
The old man said frankly: "Don't care about what others think of you all your life. The key is when you are dying, do you think you have done your favorite thing in your life."
On the way back, Fang Shugong's head was buzzing, and he did not get on the train even though 5 subway trains flew by.
He was thinking about a question: when he was dying, how could he feel that his life was not in vain, and what was his favorite thing to do in his life?
Soon, he realized that the joy of being with life was the ultimate answer.
"Accompanying the elderly is not that we accompany the elderly on the surface. The elderly are also accompanying us with their lives and educating us with their lives."
After voluntarily devote himself to the public service for the elderly's spiritual care, Fang Shugong couldn't restrain his love for this job. He shared it with many friends, and he also had more and more like-minded fellow travelers.
Committed to serving 40 million elderly people: Going to each other to grow with joy
If you don't accumulate a few steps, you can't go a thousand miles.
Driven by Fang Shugong, the public service for the spiritual care of the severely ill and dying has become more and more scaled, with far-reaching influence.
In 2012, he and more than 300 volunteers jointly established the Beijing Shifangyuan Spiritual Care Center for the Elderly; in 2015, he and 212 caring people jointly established the Beijing Shifangyuan Public Welfare Foundation; in 2016, he joined with organizations in 36 cities to form China Life Care Association Soul Care Working Committee.
Data shows that as of December 31, 2021, 311 spiritual care organizations in 138 cities across the country have jointly built a national spiritual care service network for the elderly, and more than 200,000 volunteers voluntarily provide spiritual care services in their spare time.
Ten years of original intentions have not changed, ten years of trials and hardships.
Looking back on the way he came, he admitted that development comes with difficulties, and new difficulties are encountered every year.
For example, in 2013, in the face of various service technologies and the growing number of volunteer teams, how to ensure the uniformity and integrity of technologies has become the biggest difficulty facing us.
Fang Shugong introduced that by collecting more than 480 related technologies around the world and conducting comparative experiments, 108 technologies were found to be more effective.
At the same time, taking into account the simplicity and universality of the technology, finally summed up ten techniques for the elderly's spiritual care, such as peaceful gaze, attentive listening, same-frequency breathing, touch communication, music communication, and same-frequency resonance.
He explained that in the face of death, it is human nature for the elderly to be especially afraid.
At this time, what is most needed is to use the same-frequency resonance technology to relax with one's heart in exchange for the relaxation of the elderly.
"For the elderly, the service of volunteers may be the last step in their life. Therefore, we must ensure the quality of service." Fang Shugong said that Shifangyuan has introduced the international ISO9001 certification system to ensure the quality of every link in the service process. to standardization.
On the road of development, how to provide professional spiritual care services to the 40 million seriously ill and dying elderly people across the country as soon as possible is the goal that Fang Shugong has never changed and pursued.
But the fact that it can only serve 40,000 people at present makes him feel that the task is important and the time is urgent.
He introduced that in the future, the ten directions will go hand in hand in five aspects, accumulating the majestic power of both quantity and quality.
For example, Shifangyuan will innovatively organize the families of seriously ill and dying elderly people to become beneficiaries and participants of public services.
In addition to offline services, Shifangyuan will also carry out in-depth online services to create a cloud companionship model for spiritual care.
At the same time, continue to cooperate with China Life Care Association to train industry professionals and empower professionals in the elderly care industry, housekeeping industry and medical industry; promote a class of love and companionship online and offline, so that more people can learn how to accompany them Their parents form a culture of love and companionship in society.
For Fang Shugong, these 12 years are like a new life.
The word "thank you" was his greatest feeling.
"Thanks to the seriously ill and dying elderly for giving us the opportunity to accompany us, and to the society for giving Shifangyuan strong support."
"If one's mind is safe, the elderly will be safe, the elderly will be safe, the family will be safe, the family will be safe, the society will be safe, the country will be safe, and the country will be safe," Fang Shugong said.
In the future, he will continue to connect the fate of the ten directions, keep walking, and work hard for the cause of serving 40 million seriously ill and dying elderly.
The 8th China Mercy and Filial Piety Culture Festival in 2022 is hosted by China News Service and Hangzhou Lingyin Temple, undertaken by Hangzhou Lingyin Temple, China News Service Zhejiang Branch News Development Center, and China News Service International Communication Group Zhejiang Branch, and won the "China News" newspaper, China Philanthropist Magazine, Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Communist Party of China, Zhejiang Provincial Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan Overseas Chinese and Foreign Affairs, and Hangzhou Yunlin Public Welfare Foundation.
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