When we courageously and kindly name something we see in someone and in their story, we offer them a gift of joining them right where they are and shining a light in the darkness. Naming honors hearts, minds, souls, and bodies as they have endured much. It gives words to what may have gone unnamed, unacknowledged, untended, uncared for, ungrieved, and unhealed.
To offer this way of listening and naming, without judgment or blame, is a practice and skill that can be developed as we seek to care well for others. I have experienced how healing it feels to have someone name what they witness in my story. In those moments, I have felt less alone.
We were created to care for the people around us this way. May an awareness of the significance of naming help you to cultivate the practice of naming what see and hear in others’ stories that might help bring deeper clarity, understanding, and healing. And as you grow in discerning when and how to name things you hear and see in another’s story, may that help them explore, discover, uncover, and untangle things that may shed light on what they’ve experienced, inviting healing, freedom, and life.
