19 January 2010

Love without burden

Many of us grew up with parents who sacrificed every essence of their being to in an effort to prove their love to their significant others.  Our mothers would work like crazy, keeping a beautiful home, tending to us around the clock if we were sick, and our fathers would leave for work before the sun came up and not reach back home before the sun went down.   Both would work so hard, they would be tired, possibly ailing with headaches, stomach aches, high blood pressure, weight issues, stress, you name it. 

I remember watching my mother laying on the floor for days and weeks at a time, agonizing with back pains because she... well, at that time, we all just thought she was unfairly afflicted with back pains, perhaps brought on by her pregnancy when she carried full sized twin babies, or perhaps brought on by her profession as a nurse, having to handle very sickly patients.   Today, we have learned how to combat back pains with diet and exercise, but regardless if it were her fault or not, I remember that the entire family pretty much stalled when my mother would be "out for the count."

Luckily today, we have so much fantastic, helpful information at our fingertips, enabling us to take great care of our bodies so that we can avoid many of these types of debilitating, time wasting ailments.  The problem with many folks, particularly mothers/wives, is that they don't feel that their well-being should be treated as priority NUMBER ONE.   Many still possess that old-fashioned attitude of, "take care of everyone else first, and then if there is some time left, do a little something for yourself too."  We see it a lot with women who settle down and become wives and mothers, they have hectic lifestyles that consume them and rob them of their ability to pamper themselves effectively.

Women and all people in general need to feel and understand that they have a legitmate and necessary right to take care of themselves.  There is no need to punish one's self because he or she has a false belief that they are to take care of others first.   It is necessary to find time to pamper and nurture yourself in significant ways. 

Guess what?  The best way to love someone, anyone, a spouse, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, your own children is to NOT be a burden to them!  The best way to show your deepest, truest love is to take care of YOURSELF first, so no one else has to!!   This care includes the care of your mind, body and soul. 

When you are truly well and together, you are better able to LOVE to the fullest! 

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