Tower and Town, July 2019 (view the full edition)Clergy Letter"For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." Isaiah 30:15 It's probably true in a host of professions, but teaching has intense moments of busyness called 'pinch points', sometimes entire school terms it seems, followed by a cliff edge drop-off when the end of year comes. It creates a psychological dynamic I have seen a host of teachers find quite challenging. The transition from a state of being hyper-busy to distinctly not is not an ideal circumstance. The creation of a sudden void in the work schedule leads to an emptiness in the heart and the startling change can be a worry; like a diver who comes up to the surface too quickly and experiences decompression sickness: Divers' Disease or The Bends. Yet the prophet Isaiah encourages us to embrace rest and quietness as elements essential for our spiritual wellbeing. How do we create a healthy balance? There is a simple trick to avoiding the void: have a holiday, don't take a vacation. A vacation implies a vacancy and creates that empty, purposeless feeling that can haunt and distress. A holiday insists upon a constructive returning to the self in acts of refreshment and reflection - a 'holy day', and hopefully quite a few in a row! I knew one teacher who always scheduled a personal activity immediately after the very last Parents' Conference of the school year. He would have his bicycle in the boot of his car, and no sooner would he close his brief case than he would turn the key and head to France for some very serious cycling. I might be inclined to say that it is a sign of our times, but the truth is it's been a bane for a long time. St.Ignatius Loyola wrote of movements of the spirit ranging from Desolation to Consolation. In developing the ability to be spiritually aware by virtue of his 'spiritual exercises', you can begin to detect circumstances and choices that leave your soul feeling desolate - alone, isolated and empty. Consolation is a soul at peace because it is connected to a purpose greater than itself. We fool ourselves into believing that our jobs connect us to a greater purpose, but too often we reduce everything to a means-and-ends economy where we only find value in what we do. We become 'human doings' rather than 'human beings' and we wonder why we feel so desolate. In reality, we are addicted to work place pressure and it becomes a distorted virtue whereby we distract ourselves from being who we truly are and who God wants to love us into being. So to honour the words of the prophet Isaiah, this summer, have a holiday, don't take a vacation. If you have some time off, embrace the opportunity to return to the ground of your being. Tim Novis |