Hi – I’m Susannah and I’m a humanist. I’ve been a non-religious member of the Spiritual Care Team here at Weston Hospicecare since August 2019, so the majority of my time on the team has been spent during the pandemic.

Being non-religious does not mean I am without beliefs, ethical frameworks or values, just that my beliefs are not associated with a religion.

At the heart of the humanist approach to life is an encouragement to all of us to find our own meaning, purpose, and perspectives in life, and make our own sense of a situation. As a humanist, I believe we have the opportunity live to the fullest the one life we know we have, trusting scientific and naturalistic explanations to make sense of the world, and the powerful experiences of being human in a connected society.

During the lockdowns, I and the team had to find new ways to support people spiritually and emotionally. Telephone calls became our primary resource and we had to adapt to a different way of communicating, without all the valuable clues of body language and facial expressions.

The challenge was to determine how else to make meaningful connections and focus on the positives of our diverse situations. Sometimes it felt as if time was standing still, and we all took the time to look around us at the world and admire its extraordinary beauty and marvel at the contrast between its power and fragility.

The best part of being on the hospice Spiritual Care Team is that I get to witness so many inspiring stories of love, compassion, kindness and empathy. Time and time again, I am reminded that these stories tie us all together in our humanity.

Spirituality has always been hard to define, but for me it is something about the constant quest to evolve my inner self and to find the connections and meanings that enrich the world. Great music, stunning landscapes or architecture, inspirational stories of human ingenuity and resilience – all of these things cause me to marvel and wonder.

Humanist spiritual care has at its core the individuality and uniqueness of each person, and the encounter in that moment. As a result, there are no stock responses, or one-size-fits-all approaches.  I try to put myself alongside everyone I meet through my work, where I can listen without judgement.