Elsa Rector - Volunteer

“Transforming lives and healing hearts” is The Harp Foundation motto. One automatically thinks it applies to the patient or family of the patient. But it does not. As a hospice volunteer I can attest to that. It applies to the caregivers as well.

Sitting with people who are transitioning into the next life is a calling. It can also be unsettling; not always, but sometimes. So I was very intrigued and delighted the first time that I saw a harp arriving at the hospice unit where I volunteered. I was delighted because harps had always been magical to me. Never had I been able to touch one. Now I could! Maybe I could even try to make some sort of music on the strings. More than anything, I wanted to do a “glissando”, a miraculous musical moment.

I followed the harpist as she went to play for the first patient. As she played everyone in the room settled into a peace. It just happened, naturally, as if this is the way it should be at this life transition. I realized how much I needed this peace so freely given

Then it was my turn to sit with a loved one of my own transitioning. I called for a harpist, and of course she came. She played lively music that made Betty’s eyes sparkle and carried her back to a time when her body was vibrant and her mind alert.

Thank you! Please support The Harp Foundation because you never know what your own need might be.