Spirit-Care for Leaders

• Do you ever feel as though you have lost your zip?
• Do you wonder where you will get the energy to do what needs to be done tomorrow?
• Do you wonder how you can inspire your people when you feel so uninspired yourself?
• Might you be thinking about a LONG vacation, from which you never return?

There is a good deal of talk in the mental health world about the need for self-care – for relaxation, for supportive friends to talk difficulties over with, for addressing emotional issues that may be hanging on from childhood. We also see articles or hear from experts who tout the wonders of regular exercise and healthy meals and various supplements or herbs. And everyone speaks of the need for downtime, for relationship time, for balanced living.

And yet, sometimes high-powered people think they are immune. They work smarter, think more quickly, organize efficiently, have money to pay others do the routine, dull parts of life. And then they aren’t. And then the illness hits. Or their spouse leaves. Or their kid gets arrested. And then they lose their zip. And then they wonder what life is about.

I think many forget to seek out the “spirit” in life. Now don’t get wiggy – I am not going to “god” talk you, or tell you to go back to church or listen to your mother. I’m not going to suggest that you get “saved” or to read your Bible more. Unless, perhaps, you already know that you need to do these things.

But, I do think that leaders with considerable power can confuse themselves with God – sitting up on a pedestal and expecting things of themselves that no human being should expect. I do think that leaders can forget the balance of power,  that the world operates better when people shoulder responsibilities together, when everyone takes on their share, and follows their particular “calling.” I do think that leaders can forget their calling, their joy, that which gives meaning to their lives. And they do so at their own peril!

So, what about you? What would it take to reclaim a place among us mere mortals? What would it take to expect a reasonable amount of yourself? What would it take to stop playing God, or to reclaim a place that is somewhere between incompetent and your God aspirations? What would the people in your life have to do to persuade you to share a little vulnerability, to connect with the little people, to receive life and love and “spiritual food” from other people? What would it take to receive from Something or Someone “higher” than yourself?

Perhaps no one else can answer that question for you. But many of us have answered it for ourselves. And we have learned that we and the people around us do much better when we reclaim a place in the universe that is made for us, rather than aspiring out of pride to something that we can never reach: godhood!