Monday, April 28, 2008 at 12:12pm
Spring for the Soul
Column: Executive Soul
By: Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D.
Spring came late to Boston this year. Snowstorm followed snowstorm, and winter seemed endless. At long last we Bostonians are seeing crocuses, daffodils, and the first buds of forsythia.
Perhaps because the winter was so long, the colors of spring seem especially brilliant this year. The brilliant colors of spring remind me that the fallow time of winter is a necessary season before the beauty of spring can emerge. They cycles of nature take time – the time for darkness and germination leads to the time for bursting forth in full beauty and creativity.
I find my enjoyment of spring this year tinged with sadness. I wonder, “Where is the spring within me?” In rushing from one thing to the next, I find that I have not given myself the necessary times of rest and germination. How can my own creativity burst forth in full flower when the time of rest and germination has not occurred?
In our workplaces, as in our personal lives, times of rest and renewal are essential if we are to bring our full creativity to our tasks. How can workplaces incorporate rest and renewal into the busy, driven culture in which we live?
At Orlando Regional Healthcare in Orlando, Florida, the Spiritual Care Department makes times of rest and renewal a priority for employees. The Spiritual Care Department recognizes the enormous pressures which employees and physicians face, and it provides “fallow moments” which can fit into the midst of a busy day.
For example, Chaplain Debbie Lewis offers “Tea for the Soul” at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, a time when employees can come for five minutes, fifteen minutes, or half an hour and receive fresh-brewed tea served in fine china cups, along with attentive listening to whatever is on their hearts. In these short breaks, nurses who are always caring for others can be cared for themselves, and office workers whose jobs involve constant interruptions can take a deep breath and re-ground themselves.
Likewise, Lewis makes rounds in the hospital and spends time at nurses’ stations, just being present. “I find that much of the spiritual direction I offer employees and physicians occurs during short breaks at nurses’ stations,” muses Lewis. She finds that physicians and nurses will unburden their hearts to her after a particularly difficult interaction with a patient or family, or after a patient they have cared for has died.
Moments of rest and renewal are essential in our busy lives if we are to experience creativity and beauty being born through us. In my own life, I have resolved to make space for “fallow” time. In our workplaces, may we learn from Orlando Regional Healthcare, and create restorative practices in the midst of our busy days.
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Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, churches, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2008 by Margaret Benefiel.
Spring came late to Boston this year. Snowstorm followed snowstorm, and winter seemed endless. At long last we Bostonians are seeing crocuses, daffodils, and the first buds of forsythia.
Perhaps because the winter was so long, the colors of spring seem especially brilliant this year. The brilliant colors of spring remind me that the fallow time of winter is a necessary season before the beauty of spring can emerge. They cycles of nature take time – the time for darkness and germination leads to the time for bursting forth in full beauty and creativity.
I find my enjoyment of spring this year tinged with sadness. I wonder, “Where is the spring within me?” In rushing from one thing to the next, I find that I have not given myself the necessary times of rest and germination. How can my own creativity burst forth in full flower when the time of rest and germination has not occurred?
In our workplaces, as in our personal lives, times of rest and renewal are essential if we are to bring our full creativity to our tasks. How can workplaces incorporate rest and renewal into the busy, driven culture in which we live?
At Orlando Regional Healthcare in Orlando, Florida, the Spiritual Care Department makes times of rest and renewal a priority for employees. The Spiritual Care Department recognizes the enormous pressures which employees and physicians face, and it provides “fallow moments” which can fit into the midst of a busy day.
For example, Chaplain Debbie Lewis offers “Tea for the Soul” at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, a time when employees can come for five minutes, fifteen minutes, or half an hour and receive fresh-brewed tea served in fine china cups, along with attentive listening to whatever is on their hearts. In these short breaks, nurses who are always caring for others can be cared for themselves, and office workers whose jobs involve constant interruptions can take a deep breath and re-ground themselves.
Likewise, Lewis makes rounds in the hospital and spends time at nurses’ stations, just being present. “I find that much of the spiritual direction I offer employees and physicians occurs during short breaks at nurses’ stations,” muses Lewis. She finds that physicians and nurses will unburden their hearts to her after a particularly difficult interaction with a patient or family, or after a patient they have cared for has died.
Moments of rest and renewal are essential in our busy lives if we are to experience creativity and beauty being born through us. In my own life, I have resolved to make space for “fallow” time. In our workplaces, may we learn from Orlando Regional Healthcare, and create restorative practices in the midst of our busy days.
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, churches, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2008 by Margaret Benefiel.