Expanding Our Life

"Love, and do what thou wilt." Saint Augustine

Mark Nepo tells of a story of his friend who, while cleaning out a small fish bowl, put his goldfish into the bathtub.  When he went to the tub to put the goldfish back into the fish bowl, he was astonished that the goldfish had not swum out into the tub, but remained swimming in a small circular manner as if they were still in the bowl.  Although no long confined, they had learned to accept the limits of the sides of the bowl.  How like that we can be!  We have all had people tell us what they think we should or should not do, what occupation we should pursue, that some jobs were acceptable and others were not, or that some types of people could achieve certain things and others could not.  Those examples, among others, puts and can keep us in our own fish bowl.  Even as caregivers, you may have preconceived ideas of how it should be done, and - most certainly - you have had , as I have had - those people who tell you how you should be caregiving.  Today, let us break out of the fish bowl into which our, or others', preconceptions might keep us.  As caregivers, today let us live out that role from our hearts.