Author: listeningtomylife7

Enthusiasm comes from the Greek en (with one) and theos (the divine).

Being at one with the energy of God or the Divine, enthusiasm is a natural state of joy.  I find enthusiasm for life when I am present in the moment and relax into what is, without judging or analyzing.  I believe God, Source, Divine Mother, Spirit, whatever name you use for that sense of “something greater than yourself,” is always wanting you to live fully and enthusiastically.

The examen prayer from Ignatian Spirituality is a wonderful reminder for me to be aware of how I am choosing to live my life.  Below is a very short version of the prayer:

What gives you Life?

What drains you of Life?

I reflect on these two questions in the evening to consider how my day went.  At times I will ask the question during an activity I am involved in.  It helps me pay attention to how I am spending my day.  If I am continually involved in draining activities, then it is something I need to explore.  We definitely have some tasks that drain us, but if most of our daily tasks drain us, we need to pay attention.  We have the ability to change how we spend our time, but first we need to recognize what is life-giving and what is life-draining in or lives.

Time in nature gives me life. I feel life-giving energy flow through me when I am surround by the sights and sounds of the natural world.  I am so fortunate to live next to a 700-acre park on the beautiful Puget Sound.  When life is draining me of my energy, I take a walk on the trails of this beautiful park.  I am always revived.

I invite you to practice using the examen prayer to explore how you want to live your life.  May you discover all that enriches your life by paying attention to the life-giving energy flowing through you. May you choose to live enthusiastically.

Self-care is not self-indulgence.  Self-care is self-respect.

It is often difficult to find time for ourselves with the pace of today’s world.  We are pulled in so many directions–family, work, community–that we often put ourselves and our needs last.  Self-care is crucial.  We can’t take care of others with depleted internal resources.

What does self-care look like?  I’ve come to believe there are different ways we practice self-care.  The first is physical self-care. Eating healthy foods, exercising, if possible getting massages, yoga, using alternative health care options.  All these are ways we find to stay healthy, to relax, to take care of our wonderful bodies. With healthy bodies we have much more energy to care for others.

There is another kind of self-care–emotional self-care.  I talk to many people who take good physical care of themselves yet don’t think about what they say to themselves on a daily basis.  We are often so self-critical of all we do.  Our self-talk can be devastating to our emotional well-being. What kind of conversations do you have with yourself?  What do you say to yourself when you make a mistake?  Do you chastise yourself, or do you practice kindness toward yourself?  How often do you make judgmental or derogatory remarks to yourself during the day?  Do you rehash conversations with others and  judge yourself for doing or saying the wrong thing?  Do you care more about what other’s say and think about you than what you think about yourself? All these negative self-talk experiences create interior violence.  My guess is most of us would never treat another the way we treat ourselves.  Often we are unaware of the number of times we attack ourselves with negative self-talk.

As you continue to practice self-care, I invite you to pay attention to your interior conversations with yourself.  They are quite revealing about what we believe about ourself.  Radical self-care is learning to love all parts of us, and to be extremely kind and forgiving toward ourself.

Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be.     Parker Palmer

Finding our truth and speaking our truth is the spiritual journey of coming home to our true being.  Below is an acronym for being true to yourself that outlines the four qualities needed to grow into who we are meat to be:

T – Trust  

Do your trust your own voice–the “still small voice” that tells you what is right for you? Are you able to decipher what is your truth vs what others expect from you?

R – Respect  

Have you set personal boundaries? Do you respect yourself enough to honor your needs?  Do you know when to say No?  Practicing deep self-care is when you fully respect and listen to yourself.

U – Understanding

Do you understand how your life experiences have influenced your beliefs and actions? Are you able to recognize stories about who you “should” be as relics from the past that no longer serve you?

E – Esteem

Are you able to love all of you–the good, bad, and ugly?  Self-esteem is based on accepting yourself and recognizing the dance of light and dark within.

These four qualities lead us on an amazing journey of healing and self-discovery.  Be kind to yourself, it is a journey not a destination.  Safe journeying.

She broke her hip at 98 years old.
Doctor says the only option is surgery.

I pray for the day Palliative care is an integral part of the medical community.

“No, I’m too old, I don’t want surgery.”
Dr. says “It is an easy 45 minute surgery and we’ll have you up tomorrow.”

I pray for the day medical schools train all doctors in the art of dying as well as keeping patients alive “at all costs.”

We reluctantly agree.
She never gets out of bed again, waking every 3-4 hours with extreme pain.

I pray for the day patients in acute pain will be automatically put on scheduled pain medication without staff waiting for family to ask for it.

Three days after surgery, the Dr. calls requesting permission to tube feed her.
Her DNR, next to her bed, clearly states no “medically assisted nutrition by tube.”

I pray for the day medical staff will respect the patient’s DNR and follow it without first consulting family.

Seven days after surgery she is placed in the only Hospice House in our city.
For the first time we feel relief, she will be kept pain-free and comfortable.

I pray for the day people my age and younger will demand Palliative care as part of patient care.

Seven days later she transitions with family by her side.
These were sacred times in the quiet room of a Hospice House.

I pray that Palliative care is an accepted and expected part of the medical profession by the time I may need it.