At our monthly staff meeting, we welcomed two new people to our team: counseling resident Pa Xiong and counseling intern Anthony Klingert.

Anthony introduced himself to us by reading a poem and sharing his take on counseling. His perspective fed our souls. We hope it feeds yours, too!

LOVE AFTER LOVE

Derek Walcott

The time will come

When, with elation,

You will greet yourself arriving

At your own door, in your own mirror,

And each will smile at the other’s welcome,

And say, Sit here, Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was yourself.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart

To itself, to the stranger who has loved you

All your life, whom you ignored

For another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

The photographs, the desperate notes,

Peel your image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life.

In Anthony’s words …

There is no greater gift we can give ourselves than to live our lives to the fullest extent possible.  This can be difficult when we are buried in obligations and bombarded by life’s daily stressors. We can become disconnected with our lives, and over time we starve ourselves and crave experiences that are fulfilling and meaningful.

When our load is heavy it is such a blessing to have someone walking beside us on our journey to help us keep moving forward.  I believe that we, as counselors and helpers, have the great privilege of helping people feast on their lives once again.

We all have parts of ourselves that are starving.  Take some time to reflect on an aspect of your life that needs nourishment, and commit to an action that feeds your soul.