In natural
laws, the
Law of Labor
precedes
that of
Progress.
Undoubtedly,
man
progresses
by working.
However, one
cannot
forget the
meaning of
work for the
Spirits
defined as
any useful
occupation.
That is, by occupying
his time in a useful
way, man works and
progress comes along.
There is no magic pass.
Work, then progress.
Planting, then
harvesting.
Over time, by the way,
man's work has been
changing. Before, in
primitive times, work
served to maintain life,
to look for food, to
protect oneself from
natural weather.
Nothing, therefore, very
sophisticated. As,
however, man worked and
progressed, he created
new paradigms, needs and
attributions for
himself.
The incessant quest to
live in a better world
has led man to develop
intelligence, improve
his intellect,
consequently build
technologies and this
has opened new horizons
which, in turn, have
further expanded man's
vision, but not without
a side effect, or
apparently collateral,
which created a
challenge to be
overcome: making work,
progress and mental
health go together.
We have already, then,
added the mental health
component to thinking
about work and progress.
We have, in short, a
feeding and feedback
circuit, man works,
progresses, creates
needs, works harder to
solve these needs and
continues in this almost
endless circuit of work
and progress, having,
still, in the middle of
this path to think about
how to keep your mental
health up to date.
Many people mentally
succumb when they
evaluate work and
progress at surface. The
key that opens the doors
of balance can be found
in the Spirits'
definition of work,
which changes the whole
configuration. By the
way, I must repeat the
concept of work provided
by the Spirits: work is
every useful occupation,
so that a wider field
opens up for what work
is, being something far
beyond the professional
activity that guarantees
the sustenance of the
physical body.
These are the challenges
to be overcome and the
responsibility lies with
man himself to create
environments in which
work, progress and
mental health are
together.
There is another
position of the Spirits
that we must take into
account in order to keep
our mental health up to
date: the limit of work.
What, then, is the limit
of work? Moreover, the
Spirits answer that it
is the limit of their
forces be they physical
or psychic. What does
this mean? It means that
we need, in an exercise
of self-knowledge, to
understand the limit of
our strength so that we
do not stretch our
limits too much and end
up compromising our
physical and mental
health.
If we want, in fact, we
can even call the work
of rest, since, if we
consider rest as a
useful occupation,
because it refreshes the
organic and soul forces,
we are, in a broad
sense, working while
resting, thus becoming
more able to have a life
with much more quality.
I have seen, throughout
the many visits I have
made to Spiritist
centers, people
complaining of physical
and mental fatigue, at
the same time that
leaders complain about
the lack of volunteers
and workers in general.
Realize that ideas make
a connection. At the
same time that people
complain of tiredness,
managers report that
they are losing
employees, especially
after the pandemic
caused by Covid 19.
Some say that the advent
of the pandemic pushed
workers away because
spiritist centers closed
their doors. I have my
doubts about that.
Perhaps the pandemic was
just the starting point
for a deeper reflection
by Spiritist workers
with regard to the
activities they carry
out at home and the
meaning of it all.
It is necessary to make
sense to proceed with an
activity. The time away
provided a distance and,
naturally, produced the
reflection: - What is
this work providing me
in terms of growth?
Of course, there are
cases and cases, but I
try, here, to raise some
hypotheses for our
reflections.
The workers' tiredness
cannot be ignored, since
tiredness signals a
limit of strength, just
as the importance of
workers in the processes
and activities of the
spiritist center cannot
be ignored.
How to reconcile these
issues between the
tiredness of the workers
and the activities of
the spiritist center?
Chatting with several
workers, they say that
life itself brings an
immense amount of
pressure. Professional
activity, time with the
family, physical needs,
new times, urban
mobility, security, the
opportunity of on-line activities
and many other points
collaborate for the
removal of workers from
the activities of the
spiritist center.
Now, how can we say that
workers are wrong, given
the arguments exposed?
Of course there are
others, but considering
the arguments, how to
say they are wrong?
How to bring them back
to face-to-face
activities at the
Spiritist Center?
Some colleagues,
spiritist leaders, bet
on the old fear with
phrases like:
“Spirituality is seeing
your neglect of work.”
“You must work, my
brother, for Christ is
counting on you.”
We could cite several
phrases said by
Spiritist leaders to
make workers continue
with face-to-face
activities.
However, let us be
honest: this type of
argument no longer
works, so much so that,
in the pause of the
pandemic, many workers
stopped attending
spiritist centers and
never returned.
My friends, directors in
Spiritist Centers, do
not misunderstand me. I
see your side and agree
that there are
activities that need to
be maintained and not
enough workers. However,
let us agree that it is
necessary to change the
approach with the
workers.
For example, I saw a
spiritist worker
informing that he could
only attend an activity
fortnightly and he was
roughly told by the
spiritist leader that
fortnightly was not
possible and either he
came weekly or he did
not need to turn up
again.
Of course, I know the
importance of discipline
and the principles of
constancy that some
activities require.
However, let us think
about what the Spirits
say; “the limit of work
is that of their
strength”. Therefore,
while some can dedicate
1 hour a fortnight,
others can dedicate 2
hours a week, and so,
with the hands we have
available and with good
will, we adapt to our
reality, designing our
tasks and building good,
quality work, but with
lightness and above all
constancy, the basis of
good institutions.
It is a vast subject,
immense even for us to
reflect on. I do not
intend to exhaust the
subject. My intention is
to lift the veil so that
we can think together
about the reasons why
workers have moved away
from face-to-face
activities at the
spiritist center. I
believe that we will
necessarily go through
the issue involving the
mental health of
workers.
Could we think about
this issue together?