Spiritual Direction for Busy Working Women

Spiritual direction is the process of guiding people as they want to improve their relationship with God or study and evolve in their spirituality. The person seeking guidance tells stories of divine experiences or how they are creating a spiritually oriented lifestyle.

How does this relate to women and their work- life balance? Well, women in society today are just too busy to pay attention to their spiritual life. This is because women are increasingly trying to strike a healthy work-life balance; the daily chores of living, especially for working mothers, can be stressful, and there appears to be little time or energy left for "soul care."

With a poor work-life balance and no spiritual direction, women are easily burnt out or worn out. A highly stressed, overwhelmed woman is going to do a lot less work than one who feels on top of things. Working women may devote more time to their minds and bodies than they do to their souls. The busier life gets, the less time there is to care for one's soul; it typically falls to the bottom of the priority list. With all these, stress from a poor work-life balance is linked to a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. When women don't have a good work-life balance, they tend to lose their cool more quickly and hold grudges more tightly. It will also come to a point where they can't recall the last time they had a good time. This is because, when women are overworked, their perception of time is frequently warped.

Hence, a guide was prepared to help women achieve a healthier work-life balance with the proper spiritual guidance. When a 'rushing woman' or a 'weary woman' seeks spiritual direction, it is a wonderful opportunity to assist her in caring for her soul. Spiritual direction could be a haven for women to seek peace and restoration for her spirit in a safe environment where she can begin to declutter and nourish her soul. That may be the only time she thinks she has the opportunity to pause, in which no pressure is placed over her to 'do,' 'perform,' or 'accomplish,' but simply to relax and 'be,' and to experience God's love and presence in her everyday life. It's crucial in spiritual guidance that spiritual directors pay attention to women's tales, give her enough space to share or sit in silence, and be ready for the wide range of feelings she may convey.

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Louise Thompson's recent publication in the New Zealand Herald portrays busyness as a positive trait: 'Busyness is not the enemy.' It's an incredible opportunity to evaluate womens genuine priorities without being judged.' It's critical for women to be able to explore their priorities in spiritual direction in a secure, non-threatening, and non-judgmental environment as she discusses her emotions of overwhelm or areas of her overworked life. As spiritual directors, we must be careful not to offer unwelcome advice on how she can manage her busy schedule.

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With that said, spiritual direction can assist working women in achieving a better work-life balance. If we aspire to be able to care for the souls of busy working women as spiritual directors, we may need to be willing to try new ways of engaging with them. This could imply pondering alternatives to the typical face-to-face meeting. Do we have the bravery to move into new locations to find how spiritual practises and spiritual direction may be integrated into the lives of busy working women in our technologically fast-paced changing environment as we look to the future and younger generations?