On one of the Linked-In groups, I came across this beautiful description of counselling from Paula Young, a writer and psychotherapist in San Franciso:
Underneath the frustration with insurance companies, the resentment at social security and their intermediaries, and the demands of CEUs, is something - at the core, at the beginning - that is beautiful. The creative energy one can hook into when doing this work, the fun of using one's intuition, the wonder of being able to offer a healing relationship, the sweetness of another human being trusting you enough to offer up their honest self, feeling capable - of being present for another's innermost thoughts and feelings, capable of sitting on one's own anxiety while a patient one is responsible for, struggles with suicidal ideation, the meaning added to one's own life of offering up an effort to improve the world. Attempting to make a contribution. These are some of the beautiful experiences to be had, at the core, beneath all the thick, crusty layers of writing reports, doing appeals, sitting on the phone waiting, waiting for an insurance clerk, being questioned by so-called clinical case managers, and yelled at by SSI workers
As I was reading through your blog, particularly enjoying Try something Different and If Only,I had the surprising and delightful experience of coming upon my own writing quoted here. Thank you for that compliment. It's been interesting to me how much response this paragraph I wrote has provoked. I was speaking from the heart and i think that people recognize that and respond. Also, my own experience of tapping into this (what some call) essence level is that one feels completely honest, congruent and very much oneself.
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