Taking Care

In dealing with those who are undergoing great suffering, if you feel “burnout” setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective.

    Dalai Lama

In a few of weeks we are planning to take a small retreat together.  The reservation has been made.  For two days we are going to a Benedictine abbey to step away from the busyness of our everyday lives and work – to reflect, to talk, to be silent, to pray, to worship, to walk in nature,  – in order to restore and refresh our souls, our minds and our spirits.  We are really looking forward to those two days.

We know that we need to do this.  It’s not because we are feeling burned out or overwhelmed, but because we do not want to become burned out or overwhelmed.  We understand that we, as we all do, need at times to step back, to take a respite, to be restored.

Too often we have found among too many of our colleagues and friends, in society in general, in fact, a lack of self-care.  Not enough of us really pay attention to our own needs to be restored.  At times we personally struggle with that too.  But as a people we are constantly making excuses for why we can’t take a day off or a vacation, or why we can’t take time to exercise, or why we can’t make time to just have fun and see a movie, or why we simply can’t put our feet up and just be still, for a change.

As a society we too often make an idol out of busyness; the term “crazy-busy” is too often used to describe our days.  We don’t easily know how to say “no”.  We over-schedule and never have down-time.  We brag about how little sleep we get.  We are too rushed, distracted and over-extended.  And we pay a heavy price for it.  Our relationships, bodies and spirits suffer for it.

We simply don’t know ourselves, who we are or what we need.   

As a result of that we truly cannot find joy in our lives.  This lack of joy leads us to spend our time being overly critical, impatient, overwhelmed, short-tempered, rude, unable to enjoy things that can bring us laughter, contentment, wonder.  Our lives and spirits are in turmoil, filled with negativity.  We are often unhealthy – emotionally, physically and spiritually. 

Ultimately, it comes down to each of us as individuals.  No one else can truly take care of us.  We have to know ourselves and what we need – to be fulfilled, to be at peace, to be in a place where our best health is possible and our well-being is enhanced.  And then we need to do it.

Photo by Gwyn on Unsplash