Hello and welcome.
Welcome to my spot here on Insight Timer.
I'm Julie Cassaday.
The following are remarks to help those who find themselves in the role of caregiver.
Please listen to the words,
Take them in through a filter of your heart.
And I pray that they bring you peace and a sense of calm as you move throughout your day or into your evening.
Give compassion,
See the need and know that your love and understanding can be can be deeply healing.
Notice,
Sense,
Allow.
Give care,
Tune in to what is needed and take steps to make those things happen.
Nurture,
Cook,
Eat,
Soothe,
Bathe,
Rest.
Give love,
Let your heart guide you to give the love that comes so naturally as a human.
Heart first,
Open,
Divine.
Beautiful.
Now take a moment to reflect on those instructions.
When you step into the role as caregiver,
I wonder if you find those actions effortless.
Do you intuitively sense where there is a need and what is the next logical step?
If you are a caregiver,
There is a good chance that you move easily from each act as you discern the need and the matching solution in any given moment.
Good.
Now consider this.
What if these were instructions meant to be a manual for the use and operation of you?
The instructions I mentioned are meant for you for you to care,
Give to yourself.
How often do you spill out all that you have inside to those around you,
To the person who most needs care,
To family members and friends,
To everyone around you,
But never or seldom to yourself.
Following these instructions as they apply to your self-compassion,
Self-care and self-love are critically necessary in order that you can then take these same steps with another.
When you hear these words,
They are showing you how to treat yourself for the highest and greatest good of all.
Reflect on this during a moment of silence.
After I repeat each instruction,
Are you ready?
Sit comfortably.
Feel free to lie down if that's easier for you and close your eyes if you'd like.
Here we go.
Give compassion.
Give compassion.
See the need and know that your love and understanding can be deeply healing.
Notice.
Sense.
Allow.
Give care.
Tune in to what is needed and take steps to make those things happen.
Nurture.
Cook.
Eat.
Soothe.
Bathe.
Rest.
Give love.
Let your heart guide you to give the love that comes so naturally as a human.
Heart first.
Open.
Divine.
Very good.
Really beautiful.
Now,
Move on into your day or prepare to rest by night and believe that you can practice the self-care steps provided here.
Perhaps you will take time to journal about how you can practice each of the three steps.
What habits will you begin or expand?
What can you do today and continue to practice moving forward?
Whatever you decide,
Please always be gentle with yourself.
There is no room for an expectation of perfection.
The life of caregiving is seldom that.
There is no room for expectation of perfection.
Instead,
Do what you can to find humor when you notice that your practice has halted or if you catch yourself being angry because you forgot to change laundry or pull something out of the freezer for dinner or are late to daycare or sports practice for your child or some other responsibility that you carry on your broad,
Strong shoulders.
Breathe and focus on that compassion piece and believe that in the end,
It is all okay.
It is all part of the journey and the prayer for the caregiver.
God bless you and keep you while we are apart.
Namaste.
