Bodhisattva Vow for Therapists (and other kind humans)

​Bodhisattva Vow*
            *Truncated and rewritten for therapists, adapted by CSW
May I be an advocate for those who need a voice,
And a guide for those who wish to know better their own minds and hearts.
May I provide healing space for those who feel stuck and tight,
And containment for those who feel unmoored and adrift in confusion and pain.
May I remember and respect always
The autonomy and messy humanness of those with whom I sit,
May I offer patience and ruthless compassion 
To those who fall, again, and again, and again. 
May I understand the difference between offering unconditional love,
And enabling harm done to others, to self, and to me. 
May I know well my own elastic boundary,
And allow it to expand and contract to best meet whatever circumstances
In which I find myself, and those to whom I have dedicated my energy, and my heart. 
May I help people everywhere who are hurting, as well as myself
To remember to look at the sky when the sun and the moon are setting, and rising, 
To smell the air just before it rains, when the sky is swollen purple,
To taste the sweetness and bitterness of every breath,
To savor the touch of loved humans, animals, and even the softness of leaves, and flowers, and blades of grass,
To listen to the humming song of cars going by on the endless road, of wind through the bare and supple branches of the trees, of the music of their—our—own voices, speaking our truths, and our pain, and our healing. 
Until every being finds their truest way of moving through the endless world, may I return
To sit in solace and solidarity with any who want or need to sit with me.