How difficult it is to put into practice the prayer of serenity: "Lord, grant me serenity to accept everything that I cannot change, strength to change what I am capable of changing and wisdom to understand the difference." How difficult when we have elderly people, who have taken care of us all their lives and now depend in one way and another on us. How difficult to deal with lack of time when work overflows us, the need to take care of ourselves it's obvious and the blame not taking care of others enough invades us.
On the one hand, there is There. Time is what it is and we can't give it more hours a day. Let us grant ourselves the serenity to accept it. However, we can all find a time to call on the phone. We all eat and we can have one of those weekly meals with our elders, we can all find the strength to change our routine and put in them a little while for a visit. Perhaps the issue lies in starting to look at the care of our elders as a pleasure and not as an obligation. Let's stop and reflect. Time passes quickly and we must enjoy what is left with them.
On the other hand, there is the blame. We punish ourselves for not being where we "should" or even "want" to be. The guilt that does not let us enjoy the present because it persecutes us as our shadow while we work or even rest with friends. Lord give me the strength to be fully aware of what I do and not get bitter when I enjoy or work. Give me strength to live in the present when I rest and when I visit and care for my older relatives. Guilt, a neurotic entity, makes life difficult for us. It is enough to allocate time to our elders, do it at ease and dedicate the rest to our work and leisure.
Finally, there is the need to take care of ourselves. Burned we don't give up. We must work and care for our loved ones, but we must also put the blame aside when we go on vacation, go to the movies or just stop to exercise, read a book or listen to music. If we burn we stop being able to work and care.
It is difficult to know when to change and when to accept. We can be wrong. But if we see that it does not work, we can and must try different ways to find that balance between our obligations and enjoyment.
Thanks very interesting blog!