Venturing out on a limb:
For years I have sat on the receiving end of phone calls of people in crisis/distress/sadness. I do not solicit, I am found, and in these times I am found A LOT.
I call myself a grief counselor if asked, because I’m not sure how else to define this, and though I have been officially trained, I do not counsel. Friends ask ‘What is it that you do? And why don’t you get paid?’ I never answer this because there is no answer.
I DO nothing, I just AM. That’s all. And the payment question? I am paid, but not in money. I am paid in that who I am seems to be of value to the hurt. I’m not sure that there is anything more gratifying than that and we all know this. What I do is not special, every single person can do this, I just seem to be on some mysterious radar. But no training, no method, no nothing but quiet listening is required.
Zing your antennae and see what happens!