Posted in General, Self-care, Spirituality, tagged act, being prepared, being present, caregiving, expectations, insights, life lessons, nature, object lessons, perspective, Self-care, Spirituality, symbolism, timing on August 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Freshly Picked
Raspberries
Nature provides many object lessons for us, if we but observe and reflect on them. Yesterday, I decided to pick raspberries from our organic garden. The experience was personally enriching because of all the symbolism that came to mind while doing this simple, yet satisfying task.
Perhaps, you too, have observed life lessons while being outdoors, enjoying nature. [...]
Posted in Holistic Care, Self-care, Spirituality, tagged Albert Schweitzer, caregivers, caregiving, choice, Eva Gregory, faith, forgiveness, gratitude, happiness, holistic, inside job, International Happiness Day, optimism, prayer, Self-care, service to others on July 8, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Happiness is a choice. Does that surprise you? One’s happiness is not defined by external events and circumstances. But I can think of individuals who make their happiness contingent on such factors. “If I get this…then I’ll be happy, or when that happens…then I’ll be happy. Sadly for those folks, happiness is often elusive or fleeting, at best. In [...]
Posted in Self-care, tagged biological age, calendar age, caregivers, chronological age, feel younger, good health, health coaching, Kobi Yamada, life coaching, Live Life To The Youngest, look younger, Mehmet C. Oz, Michael F. Roizen, RealAge, resources, wellness coaching, YOU doctors on June 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Are you biologically older, younger, or the same as your chronological or calendar age? Most of us want to look and feel younger and enjoy good health. Now you can, with the help of the YOU doctors (Michael F. Roizen, MD and Mehmet C. Oz, MD) and the extensive free resources that are available at http://www.realage.com/.
I discovered [...]
Posted in Self-care, Spirituality, tagged caregivers, fight or flight response, fitness, intention, prayer-walking, relaxation response, self-awareness, Spirituality, stress reduction on May 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Prayer-walking is a winning combination for caregivers who want to enhance their fitness and spirituality. Physical activity is important to reduce mental stress and fatigue. It helps counter the detrimental effects of stress chemicals associated with the fight or flight response. In fact, prayer-walking evokes the Relaxation Response, which not only lowers stress, but has beneficial cardiovascular effects.
Prayer-walking is [...]
Posted in Self-care, tagged awareness, coping, focus, Healing Touch, imagery, Jon Kabat-Zinn, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-based stress reduction, NCCAM, stress reduction, Stress Reduction Clinic, symptom relief, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, wellbeing on May 21, 2008 | 6 Comments »
For a little more than a week now, my mom has been quite ill. Thankfully, she is on the mend. She finished her second round of antibiotics yesterday. Although her energy level is still pretty low, she’s starting to engage in some activities again. Today she potted flowers in planters for family gravesites in observance of [...]
Posted in Self-care, tagged caregiver distress, caregiver stress, caregivers, well-being on April 30, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Today I ran across a useful tool on the American Medical Association (AMA) website. As caregivers, much of our focus is on the health of our loved one. Sometimes we get tunnel vision and lose sight of our own health and well-being. This self-assessment questionnaire can identify caregivers who are at risk for, or who are [...]
Posted in Self-care, tagged burnout, caregiver stress, Self-care on April 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Being away for even one day was an enlightening and freeing experience. I hadn’t realized how enmeshed in everyday routines and relationships my life had become. I am participating in an intensive weekend training at a retreat center. Business development is the focus. We are learning from each other, as well as the expert faculty. The camaraderie and colleageality are [...]
