The Buddha did not remain under the bodhi tree, and neither does Mother Teresa neglect her prayers. Prajna and upaya, wisdom and compassion — these are the "head and tail" of religious practice. Stagnation or burnout are the negative results of neglecting one end or the other.
— Robert Aitken in Not Turning Away by Susan Moon
Book: Joan Borysenko is a pioneer in integrative medicine and an expert on the mind/body connection. Her book Fried offers a wide-ranging examination of burnout plus ways to climb out of this malaise of the body, mind, and soul.
Spiritual Practice: In this excerpt from Fried, Joan Borysenko offers numerous suggestions replenishing ourselves after experiencing the “learned helplessness” of burnout.
Excerpt: Parker Palmer addresses burnout in this excerpt from Let Your Life Speak. He asserts that we burn out not because we give too much but because we do not give from the essence of who we are.
Excerpt: In this excerpt from A Step Along the Way: Models of Christian Service, Stephen J. Pope argues that understanding the Gospel message can help people avoid burnout and embrace long-lasting compassion.
Film: Bringing Out the Dead, directed by Martin Scorsese, charts the journey of Frank Pierce, a good man and seasoned paramedic who has been worn down by all the suffering, loss, and death around him.
Film: Gun Shy, directed by Eric Blakeney, is a quirky comedy about middle-age burnout. Nearly all the lead characters are discontented with their jobs or status and harboring fantasies of a better, simpler, and more relaxing future.
Spiritual Quotation: What we name burnout may come from unacknowledged anger, according to Brenda Shoshanna
