Consideration of Self

From the Gill Tarot, the Lovers; from The Circle, Peace:

           This card shows the different pulls on my time and energy I've felt this past month. One tug is from the physical world that says take care of yourself and have some fun. The other is from the spiritual side that says to be of help to others. The problem is that I've felt overwhelmed from dealing with those others (whose problems for the most part are not of their own making but from life's whammies). I actually left town this past weekend to get a break from all of it. Of course when I came back, it was all waiting on me, but it was nice to have that space with room to breathe. The Circle's companion booklet gives a suggestion for the Peace card: "Consideration of those around you is preventing you from acting in your own best interest. Stop struggling to please everyone." Sounds like it is time to start listening with a compassionate heart to my own needs too.

The problem for caregivers is that when we’re in the presence of suffering, we feel it in our own bodies....we need to generate lots of compassion — for both ourselves and the person we’re caring for — in order to remain in the presence of suffering without being overwhelmed. In fact, sometimes we may need to spend the bulk of our attention on giving ourselves compassion so that we have enough emotional stability to be there for others. ~ Kristin Neff