Chaplain’s Corner: The least we can do

Chaplain David Thomas 

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“You could take a long walk along the water and be inspired by the beauty of watching the sun go down to tend your physical and spiritual health.”

As we roll into May, we are well into springtime. Over the last several weeks, I have noticed many people out in their yards tending and tidying up. Tidying up in general often seems to go hand-in-hand with spring. Sometimes the changes in seasons can be a marker for the seasons of our own lives. So, as we’re gearing up for summer, maybe we need to do some personal tidying in our lives.

In her book Are you really OK?, author and licensed professional counsellor Debra Fileta gives a framework for human wholeness that I find very helpful. She highlights four aspects of human health that need individual attention but also how together they form part of our wholistic being. They are our emotional, spiritual, mental and physical health. She also highlights how health in each of these areas can impact the various aspects of our relational health – another key component to health as a human being.

In the exercise world, there is a concept intended to help busy people ‘find the time’ for improvement. It’s called the ‘minimum effective dose’ and it asks the question, “What is the least amount of work that needs to be done to see improvement?” Here, the goal is to implement small changes that can have a positive cumulative effect.

So, maybe it’s time to work on improving your mental health and well-being. You could read a new book, take in a comedy show with friends, or invest in relationships. You could take a long walk along the water and be inspired by the beauty of watching the sun go down and focus on your spiritual health. All these are small changes that can have a cumulative effect.

Now, some of you might be thinking, “I’m good, Padre”. Unfortunately, we as humans have a tendency to see ourselves as doing better than we are. Social scientists call this the better-than-average-effect. When asked about anything from driving skills to mental health, the majority of people will rate themselves as doing better than average. Mathematically speaking, this can’t be reality, as half of all people would be below the median. So, with this very human bias, we often think we’re doing okay when, in fact, we might not be doing as well as we report. 

Maybe this is cause to pause for a moment…to contemplate…to do an honest self-evaluation. In the areas of emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, and relational health, is there one thing that we could improve? What is the least we can do to improve our wholeness?