"Companioning" The Bereaved
Companioning is about walking alongside; it is not about leading.
Companioning is about being still;
it is not about frantic movement.
Companioning is about discovering the gifts of sacred silence; it is not about filling 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 struggle 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 going to the wilderness of the soul with another human being; it is not about thinking you are responsible for finding the way out.
- Dr. Alan Wolfelt