3.5 On the Process of Being Known.

An Excursus: Intersecting Trajectories

Hospitality and the hospital are concepts based on the ancient idea of the traveller, the nomad, finding a place among strangers as a visitor. To the ancient pilgrim, hospitality meant a place to take shelter from the storm. The one taken into the household was a dark stranger, as was the host. But with ancient hospitality, there was a movement from not being known, to being sheltered, to being known. Hospitality is an action of the community and is also the praxis of community-building.

We went to The Bay on the Sound to see Oma and the Doctor. We were the recipients of their generous hospitality, formidable! (as the French might exclaim). This was an example of intersecting trajectories, making our paths cross with intentionality.

A part of this experience is each of us sharing what we have learned lately. Often this takes the form of telling each other parts of our new stories and some of our old stories. This can become like a community circle where one lesson learned — a story told -- when paired with another’s stories or observations, can create a new narrative. This new narrative only results from the collision of community members. It does not come from one, it comes from all. Without the intersecting trajectories, the new story never becomes told, is never heard, and is never known.

One example of this was hearing about Curt Thompson’s work in neuroscience and his book Anatomy of the Soul. He shares about the process of being known. It is important for us to tell our stories to others. Telling our story is purifying. But he describes the vitality to be found in telling our story to another and really being heard. When someone listens deeply, not just to the facts of the story but to the heart of our story, we have the profound experience of being heard. And being heard leads to the process of being known. This is no small thing, it is vital to our humanity and to true community.