"If you seek happiness in having more and more advantages, it will never be enough."
This month, Nathalie Arteel has an inspiring conversation with Sister Jeanne Devos about gratitude, dignified work, and finding purpose and meaning.
My visit to Sister Jeanne moves me deeply. It brings back memories of my time in boarding school with the sisters. Although things were difficult at home—my mother had to manage on her own and we didn’t have much—I learned to see the small things and to be grateful for them. That gratitude shaped who I am today and inspired me to help people in companies and organizations become aware of the importance of a positive company culture built on appreciation and gratitude.
During my visit, I wear a white dress, and before I sit down, Jeanne takes a handkerchief and wipes the bench clean. That small gesture says everything about her. Jeanne is 88 years old and radiates positive energy and enthusiasm. I am grateful to experience her generosity, her clear mind, and the wisdom she so graciously shares—wisdom I am happy to pass on to you through this column.
Mental health
I tell Jeanne that in my thirty years in the corporate world, I have never seen so many people struggling with their (mental) health.
The numbers are staggering. More than half a million people in Belgium have been on long-term sick leave for over a year. 1.2 million Belgians take antidepressants, and their use among young people increased by 60% between 2018 and 2022. Tranquilizers and sleeping pills are equally widespread—2.3 million Belgians use them. Every day, an average of 28 people reach a point of despair and attempt to end their lives. And yet, we have never had it so good in terms of working conditions, financial stability, and the health support employers provide.
When I ask Sister Jeanne how she thinks this happened, she answers: “I believe there is too much competition in the business world—competition for profit and output, rather than joy in being human and working together. We might still work together for competition, production, and profit, but not for one another’s good.”
“In India, I worked with women living and working in very difficult conditions. They survived in dependency on others. Domestic work was, in truth, modern slavery. I saw how powerless they felt. When I first brought these women together, they fought with each other—one had taken another’s job, leaving her children without food. The other had done it because she too had children going to bed hungry.”
“We managed to transform that competition and anger into cooperation. The women united around everyday problems—refusing injustice together and standing up for one another’s good. That was the beginning of the National Domestic Workers Movement.”
Dignified work
“Focusing solely on production and competition leads you away from your deepest self,” Sister Jeanne continues. “The statistics you mentioned reflect an inner emptiness that grows because people no longer nourish themselves with the richness they already possess. Fulfillment, happiness, and deep joy come from doing things for others, from being there for each other, from paying attention. It’s about closeness.”
“If you seek happiness in having more and more advantages, it will never be enough. That’s an outward flow. But if you realize that happiness lives within you, you can radiate it, share it, and celebrate it. Then there is an inner flow—one that begins with a fundamental choice: What gives meaning to your life? Having more, or giving more? What do you want to live for?”
“Happiness lies in losing yourself. That’s also evangelical: whoever loses their life will find it. You are the path, and by walking it, you discover it.”
For one another’s good
Jeanne explains that the transformation among the women came from rediscovering their self-worth: “These women had never gone to school; they couldn’t read, write, or count. Feeling worthless had become their stigma. When you emphasize the dignity of work, the job of a cleaning lady is just as important as that of a flight attendant. When the women realized their work was dignified, they began to hold their heads high. They didn’t necessarily work better, but they were happier.”
“It’s about people contributing not only to production but also to atmosphere, community, and mutual responsibility. That creates a climate of humanity. A good atmosphere is essential.”
“As they began to get along better, peace entered their families and workplaces. Working in groups led to community action. Neighborhoods connected into regions, and regions into states. When states unite, the world changes.”
Connect and trust
When I ask Jeanne how employers can start creating such change, she says it begins with small gestures: “It starts with honoring someone’s name,” she says. “I prefer being called Jeanne rather than ‘Sister,’ because a name speaks to the person—the human being. ‘Sister’ is just a title. It’s not ‘the cleaning lady’; she has a name. What is her name? When is her birthday? Then you can wish her a happy birthday. It’s not your degree or your title that matters—it’s who you are as a person. Connect with others—exclude no one and leave no one behind—and have trust.”
“Young people often tell me: ‘I tried, but it didn’t work, and no one helped me.’ In the past, religion provided that support. Today, we need new anchors and sources of strength to guide us on our way. Learn from failure—ask what happened, what went wrong, what could be different. Don’t lose sight of your path. Step aside for a moment if needed, but keep moving forward. Have trust in the unknown. Believe before you can see. That’s why I find the saying ‘Faith is the bird that sings while it is still dark’ so powerful. The bird feels that the light will come.”
About Sister Jeanne Devos
Sister Jeanne Devos is a Flemish missionary nun from the Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She was born on January 9, 1935, into a farming family of nine children in Kortenaken, Belgium. At the age of twelve, she already knew she wanted to become a missionary. At twenty-eight, she left for India, where she transformed domestic work from a form of modern slavery into dignified labor through the National Domestic Workers Movement. Half a century later, her name is known around the world, and she has become a symbol of the fight for women’s and human rights. In 2005, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She received the Peace Prize of Kerk & Leven and several royal honors for her lifelong commitment to justice and human dignity.
