Needing Help

"Alzheimer's caregiving is an incredibly difficult job and not a one-person task. " Alzheimer's newsletter

How very true.  We cannot do this caregiving alone.  One person absolutely cannot do the caregiving 24/7 without it damaging one's own health.  We must find help and support in whatever ways work for us and ones which the loved one will accept.  We can be creative in how we get help -- such as asking someone to run errands or mow the grass.  What ways have you found to incorporate help in your careging?

Stillness

"The still mind of the sage is the mirror of heaven and earth." Chuang-Tzu

The hummingbird in the above photo appears still.  That is similar to our experience as humans.  We may appear still, but usually our minds are a whirl of activity.  Most of the 60,000 thoughts we have every day are either negative in content or redundant, according to current research.  It is important for us to live the best lives we can that we still our minds.  The image of the hummingbird may help us. It is possible, through photography, to still this amazingly fast little bird.  We can, through conscious effort, still the whirling of our minds --- which will make way for new, creative thoughts.  Daily commitment to being in the silence will allow us access to moments of stillness of the mind.   

Forgiveness

"Those who have offended us are merely the symbols of our own inner mistakes." Ernest Holmes

Part of our life journey is to keep our perspective.  It is said that we are mere specks of dust in the great vastness of the Eternal.  When I see a photo of earth from space, it helps me remember that I am a small part of the whole, and that each of us is a small part of the whole.  Remembering that, it is easier to expect the best behavior from others -- because we believe in their goodness, just like our own.  "Only those who are still on the pathway from matter to Mind need to forgive." Ernest Holmes  That seems to be true.  If we become fully integrated humans, we will know that we are part of a greater whole and there is nothing to fear or forgive.   

Achieving What We Want

Achievers achieve because they believed they would, and so the heavens and earth were moved. Tut

What if that is true that achievers achieve because they believe they can.  I can remember years ago when my sister said that parents got their small children to do what was important to the parent they do -- such as go to bed on time.  That may also be true -- that what we put our best efforts into gets done.  Then it makes sense that it would also be true that what we put our best efforts into is successful.  Not that everything we do can be a success, but successful people do not give up.  They learn from their mistakes and try again.  It is in this perseverance that they are successful.  What does this have to do with caregiving?  Caregiving takes perseverance too.  It also takes learning from what did not work and implementing a different plan.  Just because we are caregivers does not mean that we cannot achieve and do the task well.  

Prayer

"True prayer is the correction of the belief in separation." Ernest Holmes

What if it is true that true prayer is the correction of the belief in separation?  What if our life goal is to remember that we are daughters and sons of God (or whatever word you use for the benevolent energy of the universe)?  What if in prayer we remember and claim our oneness -- oneness with one another and oneness with the Source of all goodness?  Perhaps our lives would be different, and easier.  There are many who believe that this is true.  What harm is there in considering it?

Acceptance

"Acceptance is the key to my relationship with God today." The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

We can either push against the circumstances of our lives, or we can accept them.  Pushing against them causes us stress.  Acceptance is the path to peace, which also means it is the path to health.  That does not mean that we should ignore abusive situations.  We can and should do something about them.  But, what we usually push against are the general circumstances of our lives.  Take caregiving for instance.  Caregiving is probably something you did not wish upon yourself, but the reality is you are caregiving.  It is futile to resist the role.  If you cannot or do not want to do the task, then take action and find another way to provide the care.  But, while you are doing the task of caregiving, it is best not to resist it.  

Love

"And now abides faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

It seems to me that our life journey is to become more and more open to receiving and giving love.  The Heart Math Institute has been doing research for 19 years and they have reinforced other findings of science.  This is a statement from their website:  "positive emotions create increased harmony and coherence in heart rhythms and improve balance in the nervous system. The health implications are easy to understand: Disharmony in the nervous system leads to inefficiency and increased stress on the heart and other organs while harmonious rhythms are more efficient and less stressful to the body’s systems."   Here again is reason for us to learn how to handle stress, monitor our thoughts so that they are healthy/happy/supportive, and be determined to be optimistic.  Giving and receiving love helps our heart's health and our overall health.