"You are responsible for your life." Oprah
No matter what our life circumstances, and most people reading this blog will be providing caregiving for someone with dementia, we are responsible for the quality of that life. It has occurred to me recently that this time of caregiving can be considered a time for me to not only learn French, but also to focus on the next level of my personal/spiritual growth. I want something to show for the years that I am caregiving; that is just the kind of person I am. The years will pass anyway. I know I am doing a good job providing caregiving to a spouse who has dementia. And, what else? This time "out of society" as a fellow caregiver called it, can be a time for reflection, for facing life straight on. My usual list of what to accomplish is put aside. Instead, I am further developing my interior world, what Gerard Manley Hopkins calls the "inscape '. I intend to use this time of caregiving to become more fully the person I have the potential to be. Looked at that way, this time is a gift, and I have had only had two such times in my life. Both times were brought on by something one might consider devastating in my personal life. I accept this time, "out of society", as a gift of growth and introspection, and one that contains great blessings for me. Knowing that what blesses any one of us, blesses us all. It cannot work any other way.
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