Just a couple of days ago, we dropped off our second child as she began her first year of college. While we knew this change was coming, it still feels rather sudden and disruptive to our family’s normal.
It is surely yet another season of change: the place settings at our family meal table are fewer, our daily rhythms are shifting, and even the leaves seem to already be signaling transition. As these shifts unfold, some questions have also begun to stir in me: What now? Where should my energy go? How can my work further expand for those who give so much of themselves to others?
This post is both a window into my current discernment, and an invitation to join me in shaping what might come next.
The Background
My doctoral dissertation was titled Imagining Other Care. Its primary focus was on the benefits of integrating an ancient mode of relational accompaniment called “spiritual direction” into healthcare and treatment environments. The research affirms spiritual direction as a transformative practice and demonstrates how it can reduce distress and trauma symptoms, elevate purpose and well-being, foster empathic relationships and inner development, and nurture resilience that sustains both individuals and the cultures in which they serve.
A little over two years ago, I organized my work into a business called Restwork – a place where my experience, research, and passion merge into one body of care. At its heart, Restwork exists to create formational environments, promote contemplative awareness, and cultivate the virtues of inherent dignity, compassion, gratitude, and self-direction.
I do this through four primary streams of service:
- Retreats and workshops that invite deep rest and learning.
- Contemplative leadership development for individuals and teams.
- Speaking engagements that inspire and equip communities.
- One-on-one spiritual direction – a practice of deep listening with those navigating questions, challenges, or seasons of change.
Restwork specializes in caring for those who care for others: healthcare workers, mental health practitioners, caregivers, pastors/clergy, and people-leaders. We help them ground their work and life in intentionality…to remember who they are, to receive the grace of a caring other, and to live and work from a place of overflow rather than scarcity, scatteredness, distraction, or exhaustion.
What I’ve Learned in This Work
Over the past two years, I’ve led multiple retreats and hosted CEOs, administrators, physicians, nurses, pastors, therapists, veterinarians, and other kinds of professional caregivers. I’ve also sat in spiritual direction with dozens of individuals navigating some of their hardest, darkest, and most confusing moments.
And what I’ve discovered feels more vital than ever: there is a deep hunger for safe, meaningful conversations that aren’t about diagnosing, fixing, or performing, but about truly being seen and heard.
Caregivers don’t need another corporate wellness solution or performance award; they need caring others—someone who can hold space for them, listen to the story of their lives, and witness as they discern their next step.
Everything we do through Restwork – retreats, one-on-one sessions, speaking, and training – is informed by the modality of spiritual direction. If that term is new to you, think of it like this: spiritual direction is a professional, confidential, compassion-filled conversation that helps you attend to what matters most—your inner being, your values, your sense of meaning—so you can live and lead from a place of groundedness and genuine agency.
It’s not mental-health therapy. It’s not coaching or even mentoring. It’s something slower paced, deeper, and (I believe) even more essential in a world fueled by frenzy, distraction, and shallow connections.
My Season of Change—and How You Can Participate
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been fortunate to be intentional with my energy and my own life practices. Now, I find myself with more space, energy, and time to give to others…and I’m looking to expand my work.
This season of change has reminded me that while roles and rhythms shift, the need for faithful presence does not. Just last week, I listened to a nurse who had carried the weight of too many dying patients, a pastor worn down by political tension in their congregation, a CEO processing how to better support their workforce, and a hospital HR administrator wrestling with a decision that felt like it could make or break her team.
Each of them needed just one thing: a steady, caring presence who would listen without judgment, let them breathe, reflect, and discover their next faithful action. And they did.
And this is where you can participate.
- Do you know someone who’s carrying a heavy load—a leader, healthcare worker, caregiver, or pastor? I would love to offer them space—a steady, listening presence in our noisy world. And if you’re able, consider sponsoring their participation.
- Does your healthcare organization need a voice on moral resilience, contemplative leadership, or the inner life of caregiving? I bring clinical experience, ongoing research, and hope into spaces that need all three.
- Does your church, group, workshop, or conference need a speaker? I’m open for 3–4 more speaking invitations this coming year.
- Do you teach or work in higher education? If you need an adjunct in spiritual formation, leadership, or a related subject, teaching is one of my deep joys.
Why This Matters
I believe that providing care for those who care for others is one of the most urgent needs of our time. So, if something here resonates, or if you simply want to know more, send me a note or forward this along to someone who comes to mind.
Every connection and every invitation has the potential to encourage and empower a life…and, in turn, the communities and organizations they serve.
Let’s make space for the caregivers in our world to be seen, heard, and supported.
Shane Ash 