Life brings many ups and downs, highs and lows. We live through love and loss, witness the birth of children and the death of loved ones. Through these experiences we get a glimpse of the brevity of life and the gifts we receive every day.
When we’re knee-deep in the mud of life, it’s often hard to find the beauty in those everyday gifts. How can we help ourselves if we are the caregivers? How can we provide comfort when those we love are suffering? Often it is the caregivers who feel this most. Caring for an elderly parent or someone suffering from dementia can be heartbreaking. While the body may be healthy, the mind is lost.
Take yourself out of the equation for a moment. If you can, replay the person’s life story: birth, childhood, teenage years, married life, experiences with children, and then adult life. Collect photos from every stage of their lives and arrange them on a long table. Ask those you know to fill in the gaps with stories, videos and laughter. Don’t see the person as a patient, but as a baby, child, teenager, loved one, parent, working person, friend. Understand everything they’ve been through in their lives: their love and loss, excitement and heartbreak.
Love them not just for who they are right now, but for who they have been their entire lives.
Love them not for what they offer you, but for the gifts they have given to every individual they have touched along their path.
When you return to their side, remember this love and remember their journey.
Make sure this is the path you came through – and that their life story is part of yours.
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