We use our God given Gifts to provide loving care such as the gift of presence one gives in a family or hospice setting, a hospice or the gift of management when one handles someone's business affairs. Or when a busy nurse offers her gift of compassion in taking a shift for her colleague who is facing an illness. Or when a hospital administrator uses her gift of socializing and performs a day working in every department to demonstrate their commitment to knowing what their staff face.
All of us caregivers have deep roots, from our ancestors who traveled on arduous journeys to escape religious or political persecution and from whom we acquired our being. We are divinely rooted in the caring attributes of those ancestors as we provide loving care to patients, clients, colleagues, family, friends, and even acquaintances.
But there is another metaphor at work; like plants, trees, and all the family of our human species, we require regular "care and feeding" to continue on successfully.
We need nourishment to sustain our growth and perform our sacred work over time. Without enough self nourishment, our quality of care drops, slowly at first but eventually becomes too much of a burden to continue.
The result is that not one but two persons are not cared for properly. We all find countless reasons to not nourish ourselves, from time constraints to quilt feelings whenever we seek self help or ask others to help sustain our mission of caring.
What to do? Schedule quiet alone time for yourself using the same calendar as you use for work or volunteer activities and you will find the time to help yourself. Try short meditations and add time to your sessions.
Also ask others to help you sustain your ministry of caring. Call on family, colleagues, close friends or community agencies to share your load.
"Physician, heal thyself" just makes good common sense. You must decide to care better for yourself as no one else will. Large oaks from little acorns grow and like a solitary tree, stand up tall and healthy and check your caring schedule often to detect changes needed.
Proper self care has worked for me in my professional work in education and recreation management and in directing VA hospital volunteer programs in New York and Missouri and had also kept my retirement of over 24 years vibrant and fulfilling and can help you too.
by Terry Chapman
