Many times in our lives, we feel lost and lose our path. When it happens to people we love, we may feel powerless to help them, and we can't solve their problems for them. We all are on our learning and healing journeys, so we must respect people fighting their own battles. However, we can, and should, be there for each other during these difficult times.
You don't have to go above and beyond in order to be there for someone. It doesn't take much to let someone know you are there for them, but it is healthy to set boundaries, so their problems don't energetically become yours.
Listen Deeply
Allow your loved ones to bend your ear from time to time. You don't have to offer advice on how to fix their lives or themselves. All they want for you sometimes is just to listen so they can be heard. When we genuinely feel listened to by someone else, we think that our pain and sorrow have been witnessed and that pain, no matter how trivial or significant, feels validated when we feel heard. The most healing thing you can do for someone you love is listening deeply and speaking very little.
Offer Empathy
It is easy to offer sympathy, but offering empathy can be challenging, especially when what they are experiencing is out of their comfort zone and wheelhouse. In these situations, look within yourself on your wounds and consider how you felt when they were still fresh. Come from that place of awareness and bring with you the understanding of how that pain was your personal experience. Each person's pain is individual but deserves universal love in return to heal those wounds. This will offer you a gateway into engaging with your empathy.
Have Patience
You may feel frustrated if they seem stuck in the same patterns and cycles. It can be frustrating, and you should work on your stress-related feelings and symptoms, but you still need to have patience. Some lessons are hard to learn, and some wounds take more time than others to heal. Try and come from a place of forgiveness and understanding rather than a place of judgment about any kind of feelings that they may deem unsupportive may delay their healing.
Give Them Space
This is for both their good and for yours. Taking time for yourself and giving them space to be alone with their pain can also be very helpful. Sometimes we all need to roll in the dirt with our dark emotions before spiritually cleaning ourselves and coming into the light. When we allow them space to heal, we honor and respect them. Knowing the balance between giving them space and blowing them off is extremely important as well.
Stay Connected
Your loved ones need to feel your presence even if you're giving them space to follow their own personal journey. Work with them on the boundaries that work for both of you during this time and keep in touch with them in a way that helps them heal healthily. Some days just a daily short text message can make all the difference in one's state of mind.