We move seamlessly between intense intellectually stimulating conversations, to silliness, to comfortable moments of silence. Challenging places are respected and navigated with an unquestionable sense of compassion and understanding. Being-with, in whatever circumstance or space, creates an unbending sense of companionship…an unmatched blessing.
“If I had three days to see, this is what I would want to see. On the first day I would want to see the people whose kindness and companionship have made my life worth living.” – Helen Keller
Compassion comes from the Latin compassio: com meaning “with” and passio meaning “suffering” – “one who suffers with.”
Companion comes from the Latin companio: com meaning “with” and panis meaning “bread” “one who shares bread.”
I have a long and deep appreciation of the above quote by Helen Keller. For me it captures the essence of being in the deepest of relationships. The experiences of truly ‘being-with’ another may be the greatest blessing of life. As Keller offers, it makes life worth living.
Companionship at its core is about sharing time and space where the connection is woven like the finest of tapestry. It is a ‘being-with’ that at its deepest level is very much akin to what the Celtic Christians call a thin place. A place where true companions are blessed to share a journey filled with, “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12
“Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust, where there is companionship.” – Dorothy Day
BP