A Letter from Dr. Jake Bucher
“What’s Love Got to Do with It”
In a month filled with clichés, with a hyper-commercialized holiday, I recognize that using a monthly letter about loving Regis risks platitudes and predictability. Still, I am undeterred in my affection for our work and unapologetic in my corniness.
An important part of self-care is setting/keeping boundaries, and as such the infamous “work-life” balance/boundary is appropriately important to everyone, though measured differently by each of us. For me, this notion of “loving” my work heavily influences that calculation. The demands, frustrations, headaches, strains, etc. are all mitigated by love. I absolutely love the transformative power of education, and I love how Regis provides that education and associated experience with intentional care for people and for relationships. It is that love that gives me energy, optimism and confidence, and purpose – and it is that love that makes me accountable and loyal to the work and the place. There is the phrase “find what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” – that is arguably unrealistic, and perhaps a bit toxic, and I prefer recognizing that I’m not going to love all that I do, but can effort to find love in what I do.
I would like to yield the rest of my letter to the words of Fr. Joseph Whelan (inspired by Fr. Pedro Arrupe), who makes this point about love much better than I can. Perhaps his words draw connections to many areas of your life, and I especially hope that you find/feel this in your work.From “Finding God in All Things”:
Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.