Death Bear

I really like this story.

I think this is similar to one of the duties those of us in healthcare professions are lucky enough to have. We are semi-anonymous professionals in front of whom individuals bare all. We are rarely members of the same community as our patients and, as such, we are, essentially, blank. I've talked about this before - this blank slate concept - but this is a new and beautiful incarnation of the idea. In truth, almost anyone who has ever been in the service industry has, at some point, been a Death Bear to someone else. By listening to, absorbing, or even just witnessing a stranger's pain without judging it or engaging with it they are able to help that person start the healing process.