Journal of Sacred Work

The soul of our work is the work of our soul.
– Robert Eaton, Director of Mission & Spiritual Care, Saint Anthony Central Hospital, Denver

   Mr. Eaton’s lovely quote highlights an important truth for each of us. When we treat our job as a series of transactions, we are working out of the mechanical side of our personalities. There is little reward for the soul if our work is robotic. It is when we live Love that we are engaging the holy within us. It is then that "the soul of our work is the work of our soul."
   How do we do soul work? A lot of it has to do with how we feel about our work. If we pursue an occupation merely to make money, it is likely our jobs will satisfy only at the superficial and material level. Robotic-style thinking is the thought process that can most easily lead to burnout because it fails to satisfy the most human part of us. Mechanical thinking never feeds the soul….

   On the other hand, the most ordinary seeming job may be lifted to a spiritual level by the way we approach it. I think of a dietary employee I worked with when I was CEO at the giant Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus. At a celebration recognizing twenty-five year employees, I asked what part of her work she enjoyed most. "I’ve worked in salads every day of my twenty-five years and I’ve loved every minute. I just love to make salads for everyone and then wonder who’s eating what I made out there in the cafeteria."

   Another example appeared in the case of Lois Powers, who’s work as a cashier at Nashville’s Baptist Hospital I profiled in my books, Radical Loving Care and Sacred Work. Lois defined the notion of soul work by thinking of herself as a caregiver, not as a cashier. As a caregiver, she conceived her work (she retired a few years ago) as an opportunity to help make people feel better. Instead of simply collecting money, she told jokes to customers who looked glum and offered a kind touch to those who seemed sad. "I got to help more than a hundred people each day," she said.  As a result, Lois transformed the work of a cashier into sacred work.
   What are the thoughts that help you transform your job into soul work?  What are the spiritual practices you engage to help you sustain these thoughts?

-Erie Chapman