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For media types, August is the silly season. For those in education it’s the holiday season, for agricultural workers, it’s the harvest and for those in the tourism business, it’s vital. Europe’s capital cities famously empty of workers during August and politicians, having published their holiday book lists are checking their blackberries only twice a day except of course, if you’re one of the candidates in the Labour leadership election. Whether at work or play during August, it is, for many of us, a chance to live a different rhythm, perhaps not quite so hectic; a chance to relax a bit before, as even the grown ups are liable to say, school starts again in September. And the holiday is often a time to reflect on the way we work the rest of the time. The giant internet company Amazon is in dispute with the New York Times over the newspaper’s negative description of its working culture last week. And a major new study by University College London has shown that men and women working over 55 hours a week, have a 33% increased risk of a stroke. Since the recession began in 2008, companies have arguably felt obliged to put more pressure on employees, wanting to raise productivity, stubbornly lower than on the continent, despite the UK’s working hours being longer. One tool in reflecting on our own culture of work might come from the Christian tradition - known as the Discernment of Spirits. St Ignatius of Loyola developed this way of reflecting that was rooted in prayer, contemplation and truthful reflection on daily life. The spirits he called consolation and desolation. In reflecting on, for example, the working day, he suggested that a person takes time to become aware of the spirit in which they are living: and this can change from moment to moment. It may look like you’re having a good time in your red dress and matching heels drinking champagne in the smart restaurant, but actually you’re longing to be in front of the TV with baked beans on toast. Consolation and desolation have little to do with being happy or sad. Consolation can come in the midst of great challenge and difficulty – if you believe in what you’re doing. Desolation can come when your star is high and everyone thinks you’re successful but you know you’re medicating your misery with busyness, drink or shopping. Who am I if I am not an executive, a nurse, a cleaner, a trader or a driver? Daring to dig deeper than our emotions, underneath our intellect, requires courage. But contemplating our spirits, the times we’re truly desolate or consoled, can give us a clue, while things are quiet, about what we might try to do next.