Sometimes it is exhausting to care. But care you must because it is as organic to you as your own breath. You just “feel” other’s pain and sadness no matter how much you try to look away and not get involved.
Nevertheless, to give a damn about others, about social injustice, about unfairness in society, about truth, about the way we treat others, about tone and character, about “the big stuff” as well as the mundane “little stuff” . . . can be taxing on one’s soul if you feel isolated in your emotions and all alone in your intentions.
To care from afar without tangible fruit of your empathy can slowly erode your layers of love and turn your heart driven intentions into skepticism, cynicism and even conspiratorial thinking. This would be the saddest of outcomes – not only for you but those who could be the recipients of your selfless acts of kindness and your inexhaustible empathy.
How do you refresh your weary soul? The best way is to put your natural drive for caring to worthwhile action.
Refresh with self-care: find time to relax in a serene setting, perhaps with a massage or in restorative yoga class.
Renew with giving back: find time to volunteer at an animal shelter, an orphanage or a memory care facility.
Restore your mind and your body with the most accessible sanctuary – the great outdoors: take a long, nature walk and observe the colorful array of the leaves, the sounds of the wind or a babbling brook, feel the different textures of the bark on the trees and the moss on the rocks.
But whatever you do . . .
Refrain from the urge to stop caring . . . after all, the world needs you and every other empathetic nurturer to balance out those who aren’t wired that way.
After all, people like you make the world a much better place.
This article was written by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of Bob Lacey, Sheri Lynch or the Bob & Sheri show.
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
