Humanitarian Work as Soul Work

People end up in humanitarian work for many reasons. Some seek adventure, or intensity. Some, because it’s a job and they need the money. Most humanitarian workers, however, are at least partly motivated by spiritual qualities or ideals such as beliefs about meaning, purpose, altruism, what it means to love and serve others, and compassion for those in need. For many, personal spirituality is an integral part of deciding to become a humanitarian worker. But what most people don’t fully anticipate is that, over time, humanitarian work will also impact and change their spirituality.

When you respond to great human need, you are always going to be pushed and changed yourself. No matter what your core beliefs and values, it is virtually impossible to be exposed to disaster and suffering, the impact of violence, or stories of pain and need without your worldview being profoundly challenged. This process can be both extraordinarily painful and extraordinarily rewarding.

As a humanitarian worker, you will be confronted with troubling questions and spiritual paradoxes. John Fawcett, a colleague who has spent decades supporting humanitarian workers, says, “There will come a time, if you pursue this career for long, when a profound lack of understanding will threaten to sweep away your actions, beliefs, achievements, and even reason for being. Knowing this challenge will come, and ensuring that there are close friends who can hear your questions without harming you, is an essential component to preventative stress management.”

My experiences as a stress management trainer with humanitarian workers suggest that John is right. During a recent workshop in Kenya with humanitarian workers from many different organizations, I asked participants what one question – any question – they would have answered if such a thing were possible. Almost all of the questions people raised during this exercise were linked to issues of spirituality: Why do innocent children suffer? How does the concept of God go together with the injustice in this world? What goes on in people’s minds that make them turn against and kill each other? Faith and belief give people strength, but I feel that I’ve lost my own faith – how can I reconnect with my spiritual self? What is the essence of love?

Humanitarian work is soul work. For better or for worse, it may be impossible to go into humanitarian work and walk away unchanged on a core spiritual level. If that’s the case, it’s worth spending time exploring how your beliefs and your work are interacting and shaping each other by identifying spiritual challenges and concepts and tools that can help you thrive in the face of those challenges. This weekly series is designed to help you do that.

Today: What one question – any question – would you have answered if such a thing were possible? Write your answer down in a new journal that you can use to capture your thoughts as you go through this entire series.

This week: Pay attention. What do you wonder and worry about, or get angry over? Conversely, what stirs gratitude, joy, and hope? Make notes.

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