Caregiving For the Right Reasons

"I have been learning that the life of a caretaker is as addictive as the life of an alcoholic.  Here the intoxication is the relief that temporarily comes when answering a loved one's need."
 Mark Nepo

I have found this myself.  It is something I have to watch in myself with loved ones --- I need to be careful to not anticipate what I think their need is and then try to fill it.  This filling of others' needs may seem honorable, but in an addiction, it is about soothing ourselves.  Let us be loving toward one another, but not to relieve our own sense of emptiness.