What is the Center of Your Being

Red FlowersFinding your center can be the key to self-care for caregivers. For the next several days I am going to be writing about caregiver self-care. My goal through this series is to help you accept the idea that self-care is not selfish. If you can avoid becoming immersed in your care receiver’s needs, it’s less likely that you’ll lose track of who you are and what you need to do to maintain your own physical, mental, and emotional health.

Lao Tzu, the Chinese philosopher said, “At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”

I think at the center of our being, we each also know what we need. My mother needed time alone at night to read after my dad went to bed. I need time in the morning to write. This is the activity that calms me and helps me get centered before I start my day.

The demands of caregiving can be so overwhelming that we can easily forget who we are and what we need. Don’t let your “self” disappear. Take a little time today to look into the center of your being. Think about what you want and what you need to do every day to bring a little pleasure, peace and joy into your life. It won’t make caregiving easy, but when you nurture your own spirit, you will have more energy to give others.