Family

"The soul's wisdom in incarnating in human form surely includes a matching of family with the soul's path. I would suggest that each of us has the absolutely perfect family to support the soul's journey of unfolding into oneness," Gregory Toole.

Have you ever met someone who blames their circumstances on their family of origin? It is tempting perhaps to consider it is someone else's fault for one's life circumstances. But there is another way to look at it, and that is that our family of origin was the perfect garden for the tending of our life's journey. That has been a consideration of mine for sometime, but a more recent consideration is that perhaps that is true of one's family by marriage too. Any family relationship can be rift with tension, and the stress of a family member having dementia accentuates those possibilities. A good practice might be to think that everyone is doing the best he/she can under any given circumstances. Perhaps we would like more support from extended family, and perhaps we might consider that the stress of the dementia and/or other life circumstances prevents those family members from being more supportive.

That is why it is even more imperative that we have a support system that is professional and not dependent upon friends or family. Having support from many sources is ideal, but may not be a reality. It behooves us as caregivers to notice where our support does lie, and not resist or push against where our support does not lie. It is just good for our mental health. It is also good for our mental health to look for and be grateful for those people who are supportive of us and the person for whom we provide care.