“I may not be very good at my job, but I know it makes me happier when I do it.”
That sentiment emerged from an interview that Kerry Egan, a hospice chaplain, gave to Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air.”
Health care chaplains, as Egan describes them, are not affiliated with a particular faith. The job of hospital or hospice chaplain is to work with people where you find them in their life’s journey.
In a sense, chaplains are like coaches, those who help their clients find meaning in their work, their lives, and their relationships with others. At the same time coaches, like the rest of us, make mistakes.
The world needs self-aware people who know their limitations and resolve to improve. Living in ignorance is no solution. You need to learn from your mistakes.