Mindfulness

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become," the Buddha.

Yesterday's sermon at church was based on, "Love your neighbor as yourself," a basic tenet of many religions. I liked the way neighbor was defined: as anyone you meet on your path in life. That is pretty inclusive, isn't it? That definition rules out excluding anyone from one's kindness. When we think of the command to "Love your neighbor as yourself", we may not consider the importance of that on our own health. The thoughts we choose to have do affect us physically. If we choose thoughts of love and kindness, our bodies respond with relaxation and harmony. If we think thoughts of anger and resentment, our bodies respond with unease - which can lead to dis-ease. To "love your neighbor as yourself" includes how we direct our thoughts to ourselves and one another. Since we know from statistics how challenging it is for one's health to provide care for someone with dementia, it serves us to notice the content of our thoughts and make sure they are loving to ourselves and all others. For our own health, if for no other reason.