“Whether you are blessed with soul mates who settle into the most comfortable room inside you, or with those who walk with you just a little while, not one of these people crosses your path by chance. Each is a messenger, sent by God, to give you the wisdom, companionship, comfort, or challenge you need for a particular leg of your spiritual journey.”
—Traci Mullens, Celebrating Friendship, Women of Faith Bible Study Series, page 36
Before I attended the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChiME), where I studied various religious and spiritual practices and honed my listening skills, my goal as daughter, friend, spouse, and parent, was to keep loved ones company through life’s ups and downs. One of the ways I took care of myself was to get outdoors to walk the dogs, and whoever else wanted to come along.
During my ChiME internship at Maine Equal Justice, I interviewed Sister Turley about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Maine’s Hispanic Community. “The biggest need asylum seekers face,” she said, “is for acompañamiento—a supportive presence to walk alongside.” In Ted talk The Walk from No to Yes, expert negotiator William Ury describes how walking can ease conflict. Tara Brach writes in True Refuge that “what a person usually needs when fear is intense is to ‘be accompanied’…another person’s caring, accepting presence.” When I told ChiME adviser Aram about my second-year project “Walking With…” he shared the phrase solvitur ambulando—Latin for “it is solved by walking around.”
Ordained an interfaith minister in June 2021, I vowed to be present, to be patient, to be playful, to be real and to be love.