Internet image
The light of divine love
longs to shine
through every being
open your heart
and welcome that presence
to rise like the sun within you
~Anon
Healing is restorative in nature and the body’s ability to heal is miraculous. In the day-to-day, we may not take notice of the extraordinary workings of our human body and instead experience ourselves as commonplace. We take for granted our ability to move freely, to think and to create in our world. Our senses enable us to enjoy simple pleasures but without much contemplation on our part. Yet, scientists fall in love with all the mystery and discoveries in the emerging beauty of life.
Events, such as illness or injury, big or small, can change our lives in a moment. It comes in the guise of a wake-up call. Abruptly, we are shook from complacency as we arrive in the “naked now” and become keenly aware of the miracle of our existence.
If you have ever had this kind of experience, it shakes you to the core; you know it is an awakening. Suddenly, our priorities shift, all that is superfluous falls away, leaving only the essentials. This can be a sobering experience as well as enlightening. Perhaps it comes as a little nudge, a warning, reminding us that our time here is precious.
The potential for healing encompasses not only physical but our emotional and spiritual well-being. We are a microcosm of our universe (the macrocosm). As an ecosystem, all parts need to work in cooperation to support the whole and to achieve a life sustaining balance. How do we counteract the daily onslaught of stress and change in our lives? Lately my work life is so intense that my weekends have become a refuge for recuperation. Yet, I wonder how can I balance my desire for participation in community with my need for rest, without risking isolation?
Meister Eckhart, once said, "There is a place in the soul that neither time, nor space, nor no created thing can touch." To this, John O’Donohue, responded, “Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there's still a sureness in you, where there's a seamlessness in you, and where there is a confidence and tranquility in you. I think the intention of prayer and spirituality and love is now and again to visit that inner kind of sanctuary.”
Caregivers are in danger of neglecting self-care. It requires diligence, paying attention and a fine-tuning of daily practices that can help us to renew and to heal. Take a moment right now to notice and feel what needs your attention; what is most in need of healing? Is it rest? Time with friends and family? A walk in nature? Expressing and receiving love? Relaxing or reenergizing activities?
Are you open to receiving a blessing of Love’s healing touch within you?
~liz Sorensen Wessel
