Recently, I heard a talk given by astronaut Leland Melvin that helped to solidify a key point about why I feel so at home in practicing my faith alongside my life as a coach and future counselor.
During one of his missions to the International Space Station, Leland was absolutely convinced that the high point would be a space walk where he would install a multi-billion dollar laboratory. However, as the story goes, on re-entering the ISS, he and the other astronauts were invited to dine in the Russian wing. The Russians would provide the meat if they provided the vegetables. He and the other astronauts proceeded to dine together while watching the earth below. Despite their cultural differences and sometimes violent history, they shared intimate stories about their familial traditions while watching their countries pass below. During a time they could have been feeling animosity, the team was instead physically and figuratively transcending earthly woes and finding a deeper connection.
This story identifies a pivotal element at the very core of my faith: Humans are created good; we have a central core of goodness, and we are called to seek after goodness.
The Christian vision of mental health does not begin with the diagnosis of the person; instead, it begins with God’s words about men and women: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’… And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Perhaps without comprehending it, the astronauts were approaching each other like howChristian counselors approach each client: They were connecting as people made in God’s image.
Similarly, each person is equipped with a central core of good and dignity, with desires flourishing for themselves and others. Again, at the core of the story of the astronauts, this approach seems to be at the base of a trusting relationship created between coach/counselor and client.
In a beautiful reflection by Thomas Acquinas, man has a natural propensity toward good, according to his reason, and has a natural desire to know God. The astronauts exhibit the heights of what is possible when we are called toward good, and we, as coaches and counselors, hold onto this ultimate hope for what is possible for our clients.
For many of us, this might seem like common knowledge, but in a world that seeks more to what can be fixed quickly, as opposed to looking at the whole person, these ideas are strangely revolutionary.
As you enter the weekend, I invite you to ask yourself the following questions:
- How do you feel you can better connect with others?
- How can you help create bridges?
- What relationships in your life do you think could be met with more patience?