What It means to companion

Upon completion of grief support facilitator training with Ele's Place, we received this poem about what it means to companion someone who is grieving. All we really want to do is take the pain away, try to fix it.  Yet purposeful companioning beside the grieving child is what he needs most of all. If you would like to learn more about this, please connect with Dr. Alan Wolfelt through The Center for Loss and Life Transition: http://www.centerforloss.com

                              Companioning the Bereaved
                                     By Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D.

Companioning is about honoring the spirit;
it is not about focusing on the intellect.

Companioning is about curiosity;
it is not about expertise.

Companioning is about learning from others;
it is not about teaching them.

Companioning is about walking alongside;
it is not about leading or being led.

Companioning is about being still;
it is not about frantic movement forward.

Companioning is about discovering the gifts of sacred silence;
it is not about fulling every painful moment with talk.

Companioning is about listening with the heart;
it is not about analyzing with the head.

Companioning is about bearing witness to the struggles of others;
it is not about judging or directing those struggles.

Companioning is about being present to another person's pain;
it is not about taking away or relieving the pain.

Companioning is about respecting disorder and confusion;
it is not about imposing order or logic.

Companioning is about going to the wilderness of the soul
with another human being;
it is not about thinking you are responsible for finding the way out.



Copyright (2014) Suzanne Bayer. All Rights Reserved.