29 Mar 2017

Seeing the person

We live in a world where we are called on to make decisions on the fly and where guidance is informed by opinion and commentary rather than by facts and considered responses. Our lives then seem to be dissipated by the competing forces which can seem to tear us in one direction and then another. This is never more evident than when we face major trauma in our life. Whether it be the loss of a person we loved, separation and divorce, moving from one place to another, the uncertainty of unemployment or facing the challenges of retirement from paid work. What is evident is that we need to own what is happening to us. We need to acknowledge grief but we also need to be supported by a community who is willing to accompany us and by people who are able to hold our story with love and respect. This helps us to discern what is truly important from that which just appears urgent. It helps us to discover our own self and what moves us into action. This is not something we rush into because these life changing events pose important questions. The most fundamental choice, however, is that we see the person in front of us and their immediate need. By taking the first obvious step a person starts to discover how healing and restoration can take place.

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