Healing with Companions

My friend Dana had 5 of her lady companions and her daughter for a yoga class and dinner on Tuesday night. Dana had bid on a private yoga class at a silent auction and won and hence she gathered her friends for a lovely night. We found the yoga practice rigorous and yet healing but the real healing came from the dinner and the sharing in the breaking of the bread that followed our yoga. One woman was dealing with hot flashes from menopause, another woman revealed her a challenging marriage to a man that was not kind and obviously had caused long term suffering, and another woman shared her story of the struggle with raising teenage children. One woman's daughter had just gotten engaged to a lovely young man and their family was excited about the upcoming wedding. We shared secret recipes of the soups Dana and her daughter made and covered other topics that brought insight for dealing with menopause and some of life's other matters.

As we sat at Dana's lovely table and ate as companions joy became apparent. I use the term companion deliberately as I love its Latin root "Companionem," which was, "one with whom you would eat bread" -- "Con" (with) and "Pan" (bread) -- presumably, your "companion" was someone with whom you would "break bread." Dana, thank you for your companionship and sharing your companions with all of us. In the breaking of bread my heart is lighter and my soul is healed.