The story, told this week on This American Life, made me pull over and cry.
For its beauty, for its simplicity. It tells the story of people who don’t want drug addicts to die. I would give more details, but I think others might appreciate experiencing this story the way I did.
Here’s a link: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/809/the-call
Perhaps only fellow journalists can burrow into the complexities of getting this particular story and then presenting it in such a moving way. My heart is so enriched and grateful for the people in this story who embody pragmatic love: They are available to value the person using, holding space open for that person so that she or he can survive another day. Maybe that other day will be the one in which a small miracle can happen, the miracle of the user seeing themselves in a new way.
Canadian singer songwriter Bruce Cockburn wrote a song about this kind of love. This story brought that song to mind: “Orders.” Another thing to take a moment to appreciate:
Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now 
2 responses to “Holding space”
Thank you Susan. I learned so much from listening to this.
Me too. And it really touched my heart.