“She said she didn’t think she’d be here if it wasn’t for you.”
I started working with a new client recently, who came recommended from a long-term client of mine.
My long-term client has had a hell of a ride over the last couple of years and I’ve been blessed to be a steady presence in her life, at a time when so much else was in flux.
Last month we met and she was, frankly, luminous.
She quietly cried as she shared how blessed and well and alive she felt.
As I listened to her, the word ‘acuity’ popped into my mind. It’s a word I don’t recall ever using before, and as it landed in my mind I remember thinking, “Ah, this is what acuity looks and sounds like,” as though the word had been stored in my memory banks precisely for this moment.
She had such clarity of mind that I could tell something special was happening for her; she was visiting a place that none of us can live in full time, but boy oh boy it’s wonderful to visit.
A place where we see the world with the world filtered out. Where we’re closer to spirit, to soul, to the magic of what it is to be human.
Given the amount of suffering she’d experienced over the last few years, this felt like a truly blessed session.
She’s worked hard, facing her shadows and developing a practice of self-compassion, and deserved this place of respite; the pause at the top of the mountain, before setting off on another mountain to climb.
And then her colleague came to me and shared the comment above and I felt so moved.
We can talk about coaching in somewhat dry or restrained language.
But truly, honestly, coaching can also be an act of love.
An 'I – Thou', heart to heart, human to human contact.
It’s love that sustains people through the darkest of times, and for this client things had got incredibly dark.
Hearing this feedback via a third party made me feel a deep gratitude to be able to take this role for someone who is suffering.
And seeing the transformation so luminously bought to life makes me feel a deep gratitude for the art of coaching itself.
To sum all this up, I'll end by quoting Robin Shohet, as it appeared in 'Mindfulness Based Relational Supervision':
“On those rare occasions where we are fully met by another; when we are both truly seen and understood, the illusion of separation disappears and love is all that remains.”
I couldn't have put it better myself.
Yours, with love.
Photo by Birger Strahl on Unsplash
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