Week 3 Smells Good

Candle Update 

This week I made a candle with my cheap citrus fragrance. I finally got around to lighting my peach-mango candle from last week and it's not too bad. I'm not a huge fan of the smell itself, but I think I got the strength right. It definitely smells cheap, especially cold, but the lit candle smells a lot better. 

I can't believe it has only been two weeks since I made my citrus fragrance oils, it feels like a month ago. It's a little hard waiting, but I should be able to test them out next week! I also ordered some natural fragrance oil from amazon to test out. 

Spirituality and Occupations

The Meaning of Everyday Occupation (Hasselkus and Dickie, 2021) includes spirituality as a way that people find meaning in their lives. I understand this as both spiritual occupations providing meaning and spirituality as a lens to view meaning. I have experienced both of these in my own life. Spiritual occupations I participate in include spending time in nature, reflection and journaling, and religion, which all give meaning to my life. I also use my spirituality and religion as a lens to view the meaning of other occupations. For example, when I create things, exercise, or even cook food I sometimes think about how these things bring me closer to God. I can find a spiritual connection in many non-spiritual occupations, such as using talents that God has given me or taking care of my body. 

As far as the occupation of candle making, many people connect candles with spirituality and religion. I have never really connected candles to my own faith, I associate them more with holidays and home. I guess I don't need a specific spiritual connection to this occupation in order to find meaning in it. 

Spirituality in the OTPF

The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2020) includes spirituality in a similar way. It is both a category of occupation and a contextual factor for individuals. I think it is very important to include spirituality in the context of occupational therapy and in healthcare in general. As occupational therapy practitioners we are always going to be working with people who are different than us, and while we may not find meaning or value in another person's occupations, we should be focused on what is most meaningful to each client. Spirituality is important to many people in many different ways, so there is no reason to exclude it from healthcare. This doesn't mean that it always needs to be addressed, but its inclusion in the OTPF gives practitioners the ability to address it if a client wanted to.