My Old Best Friend, Pain

We don't need a doctorate or a PhD to ease another's pain. I learned how to sit with someone and let them feel what they're carrying through the times when my mentor, Vida, sat with me. I sit with coaching clients and witness their suffering as they feel safe in the space I hold for them and feel their own pain — release what no longer helps them cope. My husband sat with me as I reconciled my lengthy relationship and the demise of it with my old friend Pain. All that's required is care, presence, and safety.