Welcome to Geof’s bench, a figurative space where people share their stories, struggles, and joys with me as their pastor, chaplain, counselor, clinician or coach.. Holding a space is a metaphor that comes alive in my pastoral care encounter with my patients, clients, and students.. It is the unique listening posture when one values someone as a fellow human being, especially when her personhood is buried in her illness or any of life’s challenges at the moment. In my experience, holding a space for someone can be joyous or sorrowful. It can be fulfilling or overwhelming depending on where the journey of the person takes me. Whatever experience it may lead me, the encounter always bring the person one step closer towards healing. Holding a space for someone is necessary to experience psycho-spiritual growth and healing. An example is embracing the discomfort in facing the unknown. To sit with someone at the edge of uncertainty is difficult. The human tendency to grasp for air, seek for light, find hope is always a struggle. But to sit with compassion and remain a bit longer with someone’s darkness brings a different warmth. It brings hope from within. One may conclude “if isolation is my darkness, then having a companion in time of my despair is a big step towards light.” We will from time to time post blogs about the idea of holding a space for others. Our goal is to equip the community with skillsets about listening in a healing way and how to offer one’s gift of presence. Stay tuned.
