Not everyone has to be a fire fighter to put out a fire. Some of us have to be water carriers.
The answer is simple, but not easy: the work of spiritual care still matters. In fact, it matters more.
Naming the Tensions
In a moment like this, we’re pulled in many directions.
- Panic: Drop everything. Scream. Mobilize.
- Grief: Lie down and cry. Lose faith in what we do.
- Numbness: Pretend it’s not happening. Keep busy. Keep scrolling.
- Determination: Carry on with work and routines as if nothing has changed.
And for those of us whose work centers around care, spirit, healing, and justice, there’s an added tension:
How do I do this work now? Is it selfish to keep tending to my practice, to my livelihood, to my own healing while the world is burning?
Yes, Your Work Still Matters
I want to say this clearly: spiritual care is not a luxury. It is not optional. It is not secondary to “real” resistance.
Spiritual care is part of resistance.
The practices we offer—presence, reflection, discernment, connection, grief-holding, joy-tending—these are what keep people human in the face of dehumanization. These are what make the difference between despair and determination, between burnout and resilience.
If you’re a caregiver, a healer, a spiritual companion, your work is part of the resistance. You are offering people a lifeline. You are helping them find their ground when the world is shaking.
Personal Crisis in Public Crisis
And what if your personal life is also unraveling? What if you’re navigating divorce, illness, poverty, grief?
Well, of course that is happening. Life is still “life-ing.”. That’s not a disqualification. That’s part of the truth.
Your heartbreak does not make your care less valuable. It may, in fact, deepen it.
Your questions about what to keep, what to let go, and what to rebuild—those are holy questions.
There’s no shame in regrouping. There’s no shame in starting over. There is no shame in needing care and offering it. We are in this together, and none of us is immune to the ache of these times.
So How Do We Go On?
- Gently. With ourselves. With one another. With the work.
- Imperfectly. Trusting that “enough” is still sacred.
- Creatively. Letting old models go if needed, experimenting with what still resonates.
- With discernment. Listening for what’s real, what’s needed, what’s yours to hold.
Try This
- Set a timer for ten minutes.
- Ask yourself: What part of my work still feels alive?
- Write down whatever comes. Don’t judge.
- Then ask: What needs to rest? What’s worth tending now?
You’re not alone in this.
The work of care—spiritual, emotional, communal—is never easy, and even less so in times of crisis. But it is still ours to do. Not perfectly. Not endlessly. But with presence, with honesty, and with courage. The world may be on fire, and still, we keep lighting candles. Not to deny the dark, but to remember we are not forsaken. Our work remains. We remain. Let’s keep tending the sacred together.
Beloved, you are whole, holy, and worthy,
Rev. Amy
For Further Exploration
• Lorde, Audre. A Burst of Light – Personal essays reflecting on illness, identity, and political resistance through the lens of care. https://www.feministpress.org/books-a-m/audre-lorde-a-burst-of-light
• hooks, bell. All About Love – Argues that love—practical, embodied, grounded love—is the foundation of justice. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/all-about-love-bell-hooks
• Sunaura Taylor. Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation – A powerful look at interdependence and the ethics of care in a broken world. https://thenewpress.com/books/beasts-of-burden
See also These Blog Posts:
• Holding on to What Is Good – Reflects on how to notice, name, and preserve what is still life-giving in times of loss or transition. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/holding-on-to-what-is-good.html
• You Belong Here – Exploring the Way You Can Make a Difference – Affirms each person’s unique role in collective healing and justice. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/02/you-belong-here-your-place-in-work-of.html
• Finding Meaning in a Troubled World – Looks at how spiritual practices and discernment can ground us in purpose and resilience in the face of injustice. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/02/finding-meaning-in-troubled-world-power.html
• Stories to Sustain Us: Building the World We Dream Of – Highlights the power of storytelling and imagination as tools of resistance and care. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/01/stories-to-sustain-us-building-world-we.html
• Earth Day and the Rainbow as Promise – Reflects on Earth Day, sacred ecology, and the rainbow as a multi-faith symbol of care, covenant, and resilience.
https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/04/earth-day-rainbow-is-promise.html
See Also These Spiritual Tending Blog Posts
• When Spaciousness Feels Like Abandonment – Reflects on balancing non-directiveness with active support in spiritual direction, especially for seekers needing more structure or guidance.
https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/04/when-spaciousness-feels-like.html
• Praying and Blessings: Ethics, Consent, and Hospitality – Explores the ethics of offering prayer or blessings in spiritual companionship, emphasizing consent and honoring seeker autonomy.
https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/praying-and-blessings-ethics-consent.html
• Ethical Spiritual Tending: A Foundation of Trust and Integrity – Explores how sacred listening, ethical guidelines, and mutual agreements support trust and autonomy in spiritual direction.
https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/ethical-spiritual-companioning.html
• Focusing in Spiritual Tending – Introduces the gentle practice of Focusing as a way to attune to inner knowing and invite compassionate awareness.
https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/02/focusing-in-spiritual-tending.html
• Introduction to Trauma-Informed Spiritual Tending – Outlines key principles of trauma-aware companioning and how they support safety, agency, and healing.
https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/introduction-to-trauma-informed.html
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