As mentioned above, we could "be with" a friend who is sick.  It seems natural to do that when your friend seems vulnerable and helpless.  But we might not be as inclined to "be with" someone who is doing well and just needs a little push.  We might be more likely to try to motivate them.  Or if a friend is sad, we might say something to cheer up that person.  There are many opportunities where you could practice "being with" someone or some aspect of your life, from being with a friend, an uncomfortable emotion, or a tough life situation, to a personality type that clashes with your own.  Below are examples of how the concept could be applied, the key to leveraging the concept, and the positive results. 

The other day, I was at the gym attending one of my favorite (and most challenging) exercise classes.  I was feeling like I couldn't finish the last exercise.  My instructor who knows me well from the gym but doesn't really know me outside of class, got down on the floor right next to me.  She then proceeded to do the last exercise with me.  She didn't say a word or expect anything from me, but I felt her strong presence.  Her simply "being with" me, right next to me, gave me the motivation and strength to power through the last exercise.

You could also "be with" emotions.  Just last week, I was with a friend who recently broke up with her boyfriend.  She said she was fine and didn't want to waste anymore time before moving on, but it was obvious she was avoiding a slew of emotions.  So "moving on" wasn't a true option at that point.  We began by exploring her raw emotions by just naming them and noticing what else she felt diving deeper in to her experience of her feelings (not necessarily the details of the breakup) which soon led to an overflow of emotion and insights pouring out of her.  I was "with" her while she noticed how stuck she had become in her life (when it came to men).  And her experiencing the emotions of sadness and disappointment led to a shift.  She was more convicted than ever to move forward.  With her new perspective about becoming unstuck, she was ready to more authentically pursue moving forward because she was internally motivated to do so, not because she thought she "should" move on.  

Both of these examples highlight how "being with" not only helped the recipient, but it also relieved some pressure from my instructor and from me to know what to do or say in a tough situation.  So, when you're being with someone, emotions, or a tough life situation, you don't have to always be in "fix it" mode.  Just be with them...open, attentive, and with no expectations.  And then you'll see how easily someone shifts and makes progress.  

Another opportunity to "be with" is by understanding a personality type different from your own.  For example, we deem selfish people hard to be around.  But when I stop and think about why it's frustrating to be with people who care more about themselves than others, I realize maybe there is a deeper reason it annoys me.  And I think of that saying "If you spot it, you've got it."  If I deem someone else to be selfish, maybe it's because there is a side of me that is selfish or wants to be selfish.  In the past when I've tried to practice self-care, I was told that I was being selfish.  So, I have to ask myself, "Am I judging someone for simply doing what they want?"  At its simplest form, there is nothing wrong with that concept.  It was my judgment that made it wrong.  And that judgment stemmed from my self-criticism about taking care of oneself before taking care of others.    

The key to "being with" is simply connecting with various aspects of your life on a deeper level.  With that deeper connection, you don't need to have it all figured out.  You could allow your intuition to guide you, liberating you from doing "hard work" to make a shift in your life or in someone else's life.  With that new perspective, many more possibilities can become apparent for your life too. 

So the next time you find yourself at a loss for what to do next, try to "be with" the person, situation, emotion, etc. and see what unfolds.  Trust yourself that you don't need to do anything.  By letting go and fully experiencing your life in the moment, I hope you feel light and more love in your life.