According to a post on Aging Today by Lucia McBee “Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) offers family caregivers a mind-body approach toward their personal health and healing. MBI coaches caregivers by giving them coping skills for conditions that affect older adults dealing with chronic illness.” “Mindfulness in caring allows carers of older family members to live with what cannot be changed, and improve their mental health.” Hurley, Patterson and Cooley, published in Aging & Mental Health (18:3, 2014).
Where do you go for ?
Against such things there is no law.”Galatians 5:22-23
A Good starting place is to practice the fruits of the Spirit:
- joy
- peace
- patience
- kindness
- goodness
- forbearance
- gentleness
- faith
- self-control
Meditating on the “fruits of the spirit” brings peace and quite to the soul as you go about taking care of the activities of daily living yours, and, theirs. Caring for an elder parent is both rewarding and challenging. The role reversal is uncomfortable it will make you both feel strange and often times will put a strain on the closest relationship. I lean heavily on scripture and faith and even heavier in times of seemly hopelessness. Everyone is having a hard time dealing with this new relationship dynamic.
The “fruits of the spirit” listed above are my waking walking meditation focus words. Meditation does not always involve sitting in a criss-cross applesauce position. There will be times when the demands of life and exhaustion will not allow you to rise early enough to engage in a quite practice and ground yourself before the activities of caring begins for the day. Focusing on one or several of the fruits as you go about the business of caring will help to keep you calm and grounded. Take this practice for a spin my hope is that this practice will help you to respond fruitfully instead of reacting in frustration.
Best Barbra!
Life Less Young 