Spiritual Self-Care for Teachers: Purpose, Reflection, and Grounding Practices
Spiritual self-care for teachers is an essential aspect that provides grounding and purpose amid the myriad challenges of the educational profession. In this episode, we delve into the profound significance of spiritual well-being, emphasizing that while spiritual self-care manifests differently for each individual, its core principles remain universally applicable. Drawing upon my own Christian faith as a foundation, I elucidate how practices such as prayer, gratitude, and reflection serve to fortify educators against the trials they may face. By aligning one’s values with their actions, we cultivate a deeper sense of meaning in our teaching endeavors, thereby enhancing our resilience in the classroom. Ultimately, this exploration underscores the importance of nurturing our spiritual selves as a vital component of effective teaching and personal fulfillment.
, The exploration of spiritual self-care within the context of teaching reveals a profound connection between educators' inner lives and their professional efficacy. Nicholas Kleve delineates the concept of spiritual self-care as encompassing a variety of practices aimed at fostering a deeper connection to oneself and to the larger world. Central to his message is the assertion that, for many, including himself, faith serves as a vital anchor that provides strength and clarity amid the tumult of teaching. He recounts personal experiences where his Christian beliefs have offered him guidance and solace, particularly during challenging periods in his life. Through practices such as prayer and gratitude, Kleve advocates for a holistic approach to self-care that recognizes the spiritual dimensions of teaching, thereby enabling educators to cultivate resilience and maintain their passion for their vocation.
The discussion further highlights the significance of reflection and purpose in the teaching profession. Kleve encourages educators to engage in reflective practices that promote self-awareness and mindfulness. By regularly revisiting their motivations and aligning their actions with their core values, teachers can imbue their work with a sense of meaning that transcends the daily grind. This alignment not only fortifies teachers against the inevitable stresses of the profession but also enhances their ability to inspire and connect with their students. The episode serves as a reminder that, in navigating the complexities of education, maintaining a clear sense of purpose is essential for sustaining both personal well-being and professional effectiveness.
In conclusion, Kleve's insights on spiritual self-care provide a roadmap for educators seeking to enhance their resilience and sense of fulfillment. By prioritizing practices that nurture the spirit, such as prayer, gratitude, and reflection, teachers can anchor their efforts in a greater purpose, ultimately benefiting both themselves and their students. The episode encourages educators to embrace their spiritual journeys as integral to their professional lives, fostering a culture of self-care that promotes well-being and effectiveness in the classroom.
Takeaways:
- Spiritual self-care for educators involves connecting to something greater than oneself, whether through faith, reflection, or values.
- Prayer and meditation serve as essential practices for teachers to cultivate inner peace amidst the demands of their profession.
- Grounding practices such as gratitude and reflection can enhance a teacher's sense of purpose and resilience in the classroom.
- Understanding one's purpose in teaching can transform challenges into manageable tasks, reinforcing the importance of spiritual self-care.
- Engaging in meaningful conversations with family fosters spiritual well-being and connects teachers to their roots and values.
- Taking time for quiet reflection in nature can significantly aid teachers in regaining their spiritual balance during stressful periods.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Be a Funky Teacher
Transcript
Yeah, he's Mr. Funky.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Mr. Funky Teacher inspires greatness, makes you feel good.
Speaker A:Like your favorite playlist.
Speaker A:Keeping that fresh and funky.
Speaker A:Yes, he does.
Speaker A:He got some funky cool ideas to share for all you teachers.
Speaker A:He can empower others, students and teachers.
Speaker A:It's all about hard work and creativity.
Speaker A:He brings out the kindness in everyone.
Speaker A:He's got the passion to teach.
Speaker A:You hear it when he speaks.
Speaker A:He knows how to build strong relationships.
Speaker A:If you're seeking the best, funkiest, he is it.
Speaker A:He will empower you to improve.
Speaker A:You'll be helping others and loving it too.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, he's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:This is Mr. Funky Teacher with Be a Funky Teacher dot com.
Speaker B:I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.
Speaker B:Welcome back everyone.
Speaker B:Today's episode is is spiritual self care for teachers, purpose, reflection and grounding practices.
Speaker B:That's what we're going to be focusing on.
Speaker B:But before we get into it, let's talk about three things I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:First thing I'm thankful for is time together with my family.
Speaker B:It is, it seems like with our busy schedules as the school year goes, having all three of my children and my wife in the same room at the same time just for a moment to hang out is a rarity.
Speaker B:But I'm thankful for that when it does happen.
Speaker B:I'm thankful for having my wife and three kids all in the living room last night at the same time.
Speaker B:Now where they're sitting, talking or just hanging out, it's about presence more than the activity even.
Speaker B:And we were just kind of hanging out.
Speaker B:It was so nice.
Speaker B:Those shared moments of togetherness, they matter and it's something I needed and I'm thankful for that last night.
Speaker B:A second thing I'm thankful for is conversation with my dad.
Speaker B:Now I'm grateful having opportunities to talk to my dad.
Speaker B:I talked to my dad on a regular basis.
Speaker B:I I especially had an opportunity to talk to my dad last night also before I headed home.
Speaker B:I was doing some work at his house after school, just working out in his yard on some stuff.
Speaker B:And then I had a chance to go in and just visit with him and talk to him.
Speaker B:And that was something that was very nice too.
Speaker B:These conversations, they keep me grounded and connected, keep me connected.
Speaker B:Where I'm from, I so value when those happen.
Speaker B:It's a reminder of those.
Speaker B:It reminds me of the importance of family ties and wisdom passed down.
Speaker B:I just love sitting and talking to my dad.
Speaker B:So not only Did I have a chance to talk to my dad yesterday before I headed home after work?
Speaker B:But then getting to hang out with my wife and kids last night, all in the same room, that was nice.
Speaker B:And then third thing I'm thankful for is I'm thankful for people who stand up for what is right.
Speaker B:I'm thankful for those who speak out.
Speaker B:They speak out or they take a stand even when it's hard.
Speaker B:Maybe they, they take a stand by their silence too, but they're still standing strong against what is right.
Speaker B:Their courage inspires me to do the same.
Speaker B:Whether it be speaking, standing strong in my classroom or in my community when, when faced with, with adversity.
Speaker B:I admire people who stand up for what is right.
Speaker B:Standing up for what is right brings light into dark places.
Speaker B:All right, well, those are the three things I'm thankful for, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:What I now want to move into is get into the meat and potatoes of the episode, which is looking at that spiritual self care.
Speaker B:So spiritual self care for teachers, purpose, reflection and grounding practices.
Speaker B:Let's take a look at that.
Speaker B:First things first, let's define spiritual self care.
Speaker B:Now for me, my Christian faith is very important to me.
Speaker B:It's the anchor that steadies me when teaching feels overwhelming, when my personal life can feel challenging at times, or life in general just as overwhelming.
Speaker B:Spiritual self care is about connecting to something bigger than ourselves.
Speaker B:For some, that's faith.
Speaker B:For others it might be values or purpose or reflection.
Speaker B:And this type of self care, it gives teachers a foundation when the day to day living and existing feels heavy sometimes.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:We sometimes have to deal with some heavy stuff in our professional life and even when our.
Speaker B:Or even in our personal life.
Speaker B:Now the, the.
Speaker B:I feel very calm when I'm in church.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:That helps me to reset spiritually which is directly tied to my faith.
Speaker B:I, I think, I think I'm.
Speaker B:Even with my faith getting me through the death of my mom, I don't think I would be in a place I am today if it wasn't for my spiritual faith, my Christian faith that helped get me through that and there's still tough days.
Speaker B:But yet my spiritual faith has played a huge part in that.
Speaker B:And I'm not, I'm not ashamed to say that.
Speaker B:I'm very proud to say that I'm very, I take, I'm not quite sure the exact word that I'm looking for.
Speaker B:I think I take great.
Speaker B:I'm thankful.
Speaker B:Maybe that's the word I'm looking for.
Speaker B:I'm thankful that my, that my Faith was there and unshaken through.
Speaker B:I mean it was shaking.
Speaker B:It was shaken like my Christian faith was shaken through my mom's death.
Speaker B:But I'm thankful that I had that to lean on even when it was messy going through the early months of my mom's passing and, and I had to lean into my spiritual self care.
Speaker B:And so we just defined our spiritual self care.
Speaker B:Now let's get into the practices that can ground us.
Speaker B:One thing that can be very helpful to all of us that to consider is prayer or meditation.
Speaker B:Centering.
Speaker B:Centering your mind before or after the school day can be something that can be very beneficial to us.
Speaker B:And so I, I encourage you to, if you're a person of faith, I encourage you to pray pray.
Speaker B:If you're a Christian, I encourage you to, to have those moments of prayer.
Speaker B:I mean there's other religions that also pray and so but you do what helps yourself care.
Speaker B:If that's meditation or if that's prayer or if you've never done that before, I encourage you to try it.
Speaker B:There's a certain calmness that comes over me after I say a prayer or if it's been a particularly tough day, sometimes praying for some students or sometimes praying for a staff member that can bring a certain calmness to me and can help center me my mind after a tough day or if I know there's a big day coming up, maybe pray beforehand.
Speaker B:That's important to do.
Speaker B:Reflection, journaling, writing about meaningful class moments is a way to connect into your spirituality.
Speaker B:Also gratitude is another way that can.
Speaker B:Is a practice that can ground you in your spiritual.
Speaker B:In your spiritual self care.
Speaker B:Taking that moment to just notice blessings.
Speaker B:Even in tough seasons.
Speaker B:If you're having a tough season in life, taking that moment to be thankful, to have gratitude can really make a difference.
Speaker B:My mom believed one of the most powerful things a human being could do is think about three things they're thankful for each day.
Speaker B:Taking.
Speaker B:Taking time for nature or quiet spaces where you connect with peace outside the classroom.
Speaker B:You know, there was there I'm thinking about in the past I had a, I had a one one particular year that was pretty.
Speaker B:A pretty tough some tough behaviors and.
Speaker B:And I was in a place where over my lunch break I would just go for a drive to this small lake nearby the school and boy was that meaningful for me to just get out and get away from the building and just to go and sit in front of I.
Speaker B:From the point that I drove the got where I got to this lake to the point where I had to Return was like I had five to seven minutes of sitting there just in quiet, just looking out at the lake.
Speaker B:And I did that when it was frozen.
Speaker B:I was, I did that in the fall when the leaves are changing.
Speaker B:I did it in the spring when, when leaves are, when trees are budding out.
Speaker B:I, I, I did that almost daily.
Speaker B:And it brought a calmness to me just getting into that nature.
Speaker B:Or, or is there maybe there's some sort of quiet space in the building that not is not in your classroom that will get you your quiet space?
Speaker B:I sometimes I really like my classroom.
Speaker B:So sometimes that can be my quiet space over lunch or quiet space over specials where I just need a moment to maybe say a prayer or to sit in kind of, I have kind of like a meditative state just to kind of reflect on things that, that can be beneficial too.
Speaker B:But some, I almost recommend getting out of the classroom if you can.
Speaker B:I think that can be healthy sometimes getting out of that space, especially if it's been a trying time.
Speaker B:So lots of ways you can ground yourself in spirituality.
Speaker B:Now sitting, sitting with family in the living room is spiritual self care through presence, not through what you achieve or what your productivity is, right?
Speaker B:So there's always ways we can connect with our spirituality to lean into our self care.
Speaker B:So the next big thing is I want to encourage you to live with purpose.
Speaker B:And teaching spiritual care connects you back to your why.
Speaker B:And boy, does it seem cliche these days when people say, remember your why.
Speaker B:Got to remember your why when teaching is hard.
Speaker B:And I think that can become cliche when people dismiss our challenges.
Speaker B:I don't dismiss the challenges that teachers face.
Speaker B:I'm in the, I'm in the thick of it every single day, just like y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:And I understand the challenges here.
Speaker B:There is some truth, though, that we do got to remember our why.
Speaker B:Because if we lose focus on what we're doing here and why we're doing it, it can become a very defeating situation really fast.
Speaker B:Just because of how much teaching takes out of us.
Speaker B:And really my, my, my why I almost try to remember, think about daily about my why.
Speaker B:And I try to align my actions with my values, things like kindness, justice, respect.
Speaker B:It gives my teaching deeper meaning when I align my actions with my values.
Speaker B:Now, challenges, the challenges can feel different when your purpose is clear.
Speaker B:When you have a very clear purpose about what you're doing in the classroom and you're connecting into your spirituality while doing that, man, challenges can feel different.
Speaker B:Challenges can feel like you can overcome any challenge in the classroom.
Speaker B:Things don't feel helpless if you are leaning into your purpose and your purpose has to be supported with your spiritual self care and in what you're doing.
Speaker B:See people who stand up for what's right.
Speaker B:That mirrors how teachers advocate for their students daily when they stand up for what's right.
Speaker B:It does.
Speaker B:Versus think about what happens if we don't.
Speaker B:We can become very bitter and jaded very fast as classroom teachers.
Speaker B:I don't want to become the Mr. Grumpy Teacher.
Speaker B:I want to be the Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker B:Because if you're the Mr. A Grumpy Teacher or you're the.
Speaker B:The Grinch type of where.
Speaker B:Now don't get me wrong, sometimes our energy is drained, sometimes we have to get serious, sometimes we bring a little grump into the classroom.
Speaker B:But overall I'm talking about, you know, it can, it can transform us where that's like our Persona every day where we're just known as the grumpy teacher or the complaining teacher or the teacher that just clearly can't stand being around kids.
Speaker B:And if we ever get to that point, I would argue that we're better leaving the profession of education because we're doing more damage than good at that point.
Speaker B:And so that's why I think we got to live with purpose in teaching.
Speaker B:Leaning into remembering our values, remembering our, our, our, our actions have to align with, with our values.
Speaker B:Remembering our why and knowing that, that our spiritual self care will help carry us through any challenges we might face.
Speaker B:And so as I reflect, as I think about some takeaways here, as I reflect and think about takeaways, ultimately y', all spiritual self care looks different for everyone.
Speaker B:But for me, it's rooted in my Christian faith.
Speaker B:It always comes back to my Christian faith.
Speaker B:Faith gives me strength, perspective and peace.
Speaker B:When, when, when, when, when the work of teaching feels overwhelming and let's be real, sometimes it feels overwhelming.
Speaker B:Sometimes more often than not, right, it does.
Speaker B:Especially if you.
Speaker B:Depending on if you have a challenging group of students.
Speaker B:But it can feel overwhelming now, whether through prayer, scripture, gratitude, simply just sitting in quiet reflection.
Speaker B:Nurturing, nurturing the spirit gives teachers staying power.
Speaker B:Where we can stay in this and we can give it our all.
Speaker B:The number one key takeaway, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:When you care for your spirit, you anchor your teaching in something bigger than the classroom.
Speaker B:Write that down.
Speaker B:It's going to be in the test, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:All right, maybe not.
Speaker B:But it's something to think about, right?
Speaker B:That when you care for your.
Speaker B:I'll say that again.
Speaker B:When you care for your spirit you anchor your teaching in something bigger than the classroom.
Speaker B:Well, that's where I want to leave things here for today.
Speaker B:I hope I gave you some value, some stuff to think about.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:If you found value in this episode, go on over to Apple Podcasts and give a review or whatever podcast you are listening to, my Be a Funky Teacher podcast.
Speaker B:I'd ask that you go on over and give it a review.
Speaker B:Give me five stars if you like it.
Speaker B:And give a review, y', all, if you're finding value in it.
Speaker B:And I want you to remember to inspire greatness in young people.
Speaker B:And don't forget to be a funky teacher.
Speaker B:Bye, now.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher?
Speaker A:Yeah?
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky teacher?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah?
