Some years back one of the male congregations lost three of their General Councillors within a relatively short period of time. Investigations showed that two of those lives could have been saved if they had been prompt about caring for themselves. Now, all the General Councillors of that Congregation undergo a medical check-up once every six months.
About a month ago one of my friends, a highly placed religious, who had started to work late into the night, lost consciousness and collapsed in the restroom, at night. Fortunately, he was not seriously hurt. He regained consciousness after some time. Next morning when he consulted the doctor, he was advised to go to bed every night by 9.00 p.m. and then come back for a test after two weeks. The tests revealed that he was not suffering from any major sickness – he had collapsed because of loss of sleep.
At the end of a renewal course for a group of very active religious, one of the common remarks that was heard was this: “I really needed this time for myself. Now I need to take time daily to nourish myself. Otherwise, I will become stressed, depleted, inefficient and unhappy.”
Jose Kuttianimattathil, sdb
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