Fr. Myles Sheehan (pictured above, right) is a Jesuit priest, physician, professor of medicine at Georgetown University and one of our ministry’s board members. Through his many experiences, he understands that the current rigors of the health care environment as well as other world happenings are weighing on all of us.
Because of this, Fr. Sheehan suggests taking a few minutes each day for some spiritual practices to help you handle life’s pressures and temptations.
“What I think is a real temptation these days is catastrophizing and being overwhelmed by negative thinking,” Fr. Sheehan shares. “Just taking a few minutes each day to start a spiritual practice, to realize that you do have a center that’s connected to others and to God, is important.”
A good place to start is to be aware of what’s going on in your life. He suggests taking time each day, maybe before bed or at the end of work, to ask ourselves:
- What makes me happy?
- What makes me sad?
- What things give me life?
- What things take away from it?
Also, considering how you relate to your colleagues and others throughout the day is something that helps us understand ourselves in relation to others. It helps us see that we are all connected and that we are all connected to God.
“No real spirituality ever leads you to despise others,” Fr. Sheehan adds. “It’s important for us to deal with our feelings of annoyance, disgust, anger, whatever, but we can’t just sit with that. We have to move on or otherwise we’re just giving in to the bad part of ourselves that would divide us.”
Getting into a routine, a practice, is important. Fr. Sheehan shares that his personal spiritual practices are prayer, experiencing the Eucharist and discernment.
He adds that, like any relationship, it’s really about showing up. He likened it to couples who go to dinner and really don’t say a lot to each other, but they’ll have had a perfectly lovely time.
“It isn’t as if the conversation has to always be scintillating, it is just being there with the other.”
This holiday season, we are celebrating by spreading the good news! Read more spiritual stories, like this one, that feature our team members, patients and the wonderful communities we are blessed to serve.
Also, learn about the spiritual care and health care services we offer at Bon Secours.
