Love is a pretty big part of our workplace vocabulary, but that’s probably what you would expect from a place with a mission to help build the spiritual foundation for a loving world! But truly, love can have a place in any workday and any type of workplace, no matter whom or what you’re working for: customers, patrons, patients, the public, students, a constituency, a mission.
And I am here to say that love can become more present in your work through practices. These are activities, often spiritual or mindful, that “help you deepen your relationship with the sacred and the world around you” (thank you to our friends at Spirituality & Practice for this definition). When you practice, you are choosing to be in very deliberate and loving relationship with your growth edges, and you return to practices over and over again to tend to this relationship. I tend to think of them as being like the airline instruction to first put on your own oxygen mask so that you will be available to help others. Practices are opportunities to foster well-being, first with yourself and then with everyone you come in contact with.
If you’re looking for practices to help you in your workday, here are some that are accessible at any point in your day, and they take only a moment.
Go ahead, take a pause.
Taking a contemplative pause during moments of transition in your workday helps you focus and be present for yourself and others. This might be at the beginning or end of meetings, in the midst of a busy agenda, or when you are shifting gears during any activity. All you need to do is be still. Take a moment and center. Notice how you're feeling at this moment of transition. How does your body feel? Give your attention to that for just a little bit. If your attention strays, gently return to your pause.
I find it especially helpful to pause in moments of tense or emotional conversation. In these pauses, take a moment to digest everything that’s been said. Are you anxious? Frustrated? If so, extend grace and kindness to yourself. A pause is a practice of being still so that you can be still with others. This also helps you in what you’re trying to accomplish together.
I also like to take these pauses in busy situations in public when I feel impatient, like when I’m waiting in line anywhere: the grocery store, a train station, a restaurant. What transitions in your day might benefit from a pause?
Learn more about the power of the pause in this article from Mindful.
Find your daily cue for gratitude.
A daily cue—just like a moment of transition—can help us take a pause for a moment of gratitude. Think about the patterns in your workday: how you begin your day, breaks in your day, encountering coworkers and the people your work is meant to benefit, the tools you use in your job, the reasons you gather.
Here are some examples. Picking up a pen might be a cue for you to offer gratitude for the people who made it, the materials it’s made from, how it traveled to get to you. You can extend gratitude for the reasons you are using such a tool—the messages it delivers and the people who receive them.
Crossing a threshold to talk with a coworker might signal a moment of gratitude for that person, their personal gifts, the work you do together. What cues in your day might allow you to offer your thanks?
When in doubt, go to gratitude—it’s so helpful! Learn more about the practice of gratitude from our friends at Spirituality & Practice.
Make it official: schedule a quiet break in the workday.
Years ago, Fetzer’s leadership team designated 2:00–2:20 p.m. as “quiet time.” Slightly longer than an official 15-minute break, this optional time at Fetzer is one we can use in whatever way sustains us. Some of us gather for a contemplative practice led by other staff members; some use it as screen-free time; others take it as permission to not schedule meetings or to get outdoors for a walk. Regardless, it’s a time we all respect, even if we do not/cannot participate at that given time every day.
There are many ways—formal and informal—to make it official. This may be something leadership in your organization facilitates; you can do it as a working group or team; or you might just dedicate 15–20 minutes in your day for yourself.
About Practices
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Practices allow you to be attentive to yourself and to others. They are something you do for yourself that helps you be with others. These practices can also be a reflection of how you wish to be received.
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Feelings of impatience and frustration are real, so don't bypass them. They just shouldn't be your home—think of yourself as just visiting, and move into gratitude if/when you can.
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I find that, as with exercise, making a commitment to practice is so helpful!
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And last, but never least, practices are invitations, not prescriptions.
My invitation to you is to find your moment of transition or your cue for gratitude and give it a try.
Nathan Moore, spiritual engagement coordinator at the Fetzer Institute, practices Buddhism and believes in the innate goodness of all living things.