Progress on Goals for Unit I

The goal of learning to pray spontaneously with people of other faith traditions and no faith tradition was easier to accomplish than I expected.  I pray regularly and frequently and can find words easily to express what patients say they need or hope for.  This seems to be a strength for me, but prayer is not always the answer and moving too quickly into prayer can put closure on conversation that might otherwise go deeper.  My greatest strength is sincerity.  Peers and patients have affirmed this many times, and I accept it as true even though it feels embarrassing to write it.  My weakness is the tendency to sympathize and comfort people instead of just being with them. 

   

The goal of emotional mindfulness is one that I still need to work on.  I am able to identify feelings and have explored my feelings of grief and fear of death quite a bit.  I want to modify this goal by taking time in the moment to feel what I feel without analyzing it.  The goal of spontaneous interfaith prayer is complete, but I have modified it to consider how different religious view suffering, death and the afterlife.  I want to continue this exploration to learn about how different spiritualities approach forgiveness and reconciliation.

  

A major challenge for me is speaking from the perspective of my own religious tradition without feeling ambivalent or defensive.  I am saddened by the rejection of the teachings of the Church by some of Catholics and the abandonment of the Church by members who find it not progressive enough.  I am open to new ideas that will challenge me to grow, but I am loyal to the Church.  I have a new goal to explore this with the group.