How to Care
Understanding the way we care, and transforming it!
As humans, we are naturally caring individuals. We have a soft spot for cute animals, babies, and heartwarming videos that show up on our Facebook feed that make our eyes water. The compassion does not have to stop there.
The first glimpse of care that we receive is what we understand “love” to be. Love is a big word that can look like different things for each of us, but an important thing to notice is that the way we love others is how others have loved us in our early years. Although gossip magazines claim to have the answers of what love is, there isn’t a defined step-by-step guide to love. Love is based on personal experience, and can be ever changing the more we interact with different expressions of love.
Caring is an expression of love. We have seen the popularity of “self-care” arise these past few years that suggest many ways to care for your mind, body, and soul. The most important relationship that you have is with yourself, and caring for yourself in ways that are physical, emotional, mental, psychological, spiritual – all aspects of self, is crucial to becoming happy without relying on external factors (people, wealth, objects). However, as we become older and our body is no longer at its prime, more care is needed.
I like to think of care in relation of how we would care for a plant. 3 necessary factors to keep a plant alive: water, sun, and environment. Although each plant has different ways to care, it all comes back to the 3 necessary factors. If your plant is not looking so great, is drooping or leaves are yellowing, understand that one of the 3 is not working well for it and may need some adjustment or extra attention. Maybe more/less water, more/less sun, larger area to grow. Keep in mind that all plants are different and will need different amounts of care. All plants will gives us signs when things are not going well, and is a gentle reminder that something needs to change to get better. Just because the plant looks like it is dying doesn’t mean it is a lost cause and to stop taking care of it. It is an opportunity to inspire and encourage life by caring for it. Why not have these perspectives when we care for ourselves and other people? We have the potential to bloom into something great and also have the opportunity to be a light to others.
I encourage you to write your thoughts down in a journal or notebook. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and explore different ideas to improve quality of life!