Journal of Sacred Work

   Part of the role of the Journal is to encourage caregivers to engage the spiritual in their work. This is spiritual with a small "s" as well as the more religious expression.

   Many caregivers seem to wonder about how they can do this in ways consistent with their faith. The question they ask me is: "If work and religion are to be kept separate, how can I live my faith in my work?" The answer to this becomes easier if we let go of the notion that we are supposed to evangelize our particular version of faith onto others in a workplace setting. Spirituality, here, is about living the message of Love, not promoting religion.
   A fascinating question arises when we imagine what it is like to do our work without engaging the spiritual. What would this be like?…

   Spiritless work is one of the saddest images in the American caregiving landscape. Employees going about their work like automatons have surrendered the most important aspect of their humanity. To disengage from our spirits as soon as we enter the workplace is to leave our hearts behind in our cars.
   Why would we do this? Sometimes, people tell me it has never occurred to them to live their spirituality in their work. "I’m just a button-pusher," an x-ray technologist told me once. A button-pusher would soon tire of his or her job. But an x-ray technologist who approaches their work as a caregiver and who see this work as sacred is tapping an endless reservoir of energy.
   Each time we practice Love, we are living our work spiritually. Each time we reach out in Love to help another, we are bringing the hand of God into our labor. Each time we laugh with each other we are practicing a form of kindness.

To live our work spiritually can be challenging. When we offer constructive suggestions about how the workplace can be improved, we are living Love. Each time we groan and complain in a cynical way, we are defeating spiritual living. It is easy to gossip about others. It is spiritually meaningful to hold our tongues before criticizing others and instead to give others the benefit of a doubt.
   The photo, here, taken by my daughter of a nurse at Yale-New Haven Hospital, captures the spark of what it is like to engage our spirit in our work. I use this image frequently because you can see Love’s spirit so clearly in the face of this nurse as she reaches to help a patient in need.
      Today is another opportunity to practice the message of Love. Spiritual living calls to the best in us. It is a moment-by-moment opportunity to engage our gifts on behalf of others in need – whether they be patients, or our fellow caregivers, our ourselves.
      Love of others begins with self love. Do something kind for yourself today. It may be something as simple and powerful as sending a kind thought back into yourself. Today, and every day, celebrate that you are a spark of the divine.

-Erie Chapman