Spiritual Health Awareness Week
While the world grapples with the fourth wave of the Covid-19 crisis, the Province of Manitoba continues to acknowledge the tremendous work of frontline workers, by having compassionate empathy for the hardship that our communities are facing, and by looking forward to advice and wisdom of leaders and planners thinking of post Covid-19.
Compassion and Self-Compassion in Challenging Times
SHAW provides an opportunity to recognize the value and dedication of spiritual and religious service providers of all faiths who work in specialized settings such as, hospitals, long-term care facilities, mental health centers and correctional facilities.
There’s a lot of muddy puddles we might find ourselves sitting in today. The pandemic would be enough to deal with by itself. But on top of that we are also reeling from the discovery of thousands of unmarked graves at Residential School sites, global climate change events, vaccine protests, and the list goes on.
It’s been hard on everyone of course, but particularly challenging for those of us in healthcare. Even with the many good health outcomes we bring about daily with COVID patients as well as others, many of us are tired. Some days all we can think about is, indeed, “the muddiness of mud.”
Each day this week we are offering something to read, something to watch/listen to, and something to do to help you consider life beyond the mud puddle, and maybe even re-energize a sense of tenderness toward yourself as well as others around you.
The muddy puddle is not going away anytime soon but it may be that SHAW 2021 will lead you to find ways to experience more than “the muddiness of mud.”
You may even remember that it’s only in the wet soil that seeds can germinate and grow into something beautiful.
Daily Reflections: We invite you click on each link below.
Keeping Perspective and Our Sense of Control
The Muddy Puddle
I am sitting
In the middle
Of a rather Muddy
Puddle,
With my bottom
Full of bubbles
And my rubbers
Full of Mud,
While my jacket
And my sweater
Go on slowly
Getting wetter
As I very
Slowly settle
To the Bottom
Of the Mud.
And I find that
What a person
With a puddle
Round his middle
Thinks of mostly
In the muddle
Is the Muddi-
Ness of Mud.
Excerpted from Garbage Delight
by Dennis Lee, © 1977
Below are a few links to interesting podcasts and articles to view and read.
David Freudberg The Spiritual Podcast
Spirituality and Health: the art of Compassionate Medicine
Follow the Evidence – Spiritual Care in Health Care
Summary: Spiritual Care is increasingly integral within the provision of healthcare. As with every other aspect of health care, spiritual care providers have growing, evidence-based support for their work. This paper presents the evidence as it relates to spiritual care terminology, structure, paradigm, scope of practice and outcomes, specifically within the context of healthcare within the USA.