
09/05/2025
💜💚🦋
When you sit with someone as they take their last breath, you are doing something extraordinary, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment. To bear witness means you are fully present, not trying to fix, not trying to change what is unfolding, but simply showing up with your whole heart. It is a choice to stay, to watch, to listen, and to hold space for another person’s final moments of life.
We are so used to rushing in to make things better, to smooth what feels rough or ease what feels uncomfortable. But death doesn’t need us to fix it. What it needs, what people need, is our presence. Bearing witness is the work of saying, without words: I see you. You are not alone. I am here with you.
This is why it matters. Because when we bear witness, we affirm the dignity of that moment. We give weight to the truth that this life meant something. And in return, we are given the quiet honor of having stood beside them as they took their very last breath. This moment is more than sacred, it is profoundly significant.
In the end, bearing witness is not about what we do, it is about who we are willing to be for another person in their final moments. To show up fully, without trying to fix or change, is one of the greatest gifts we can offer. Presence itself becomes love.
xo
Gabby
You can find this blog here:
https://www.thehospiceheart.net/post/bearing-witness