Jelaila Starr – As we move into the new emerging reality, we are being called to shed the old ways that no longer serve us. Among those ways is one that keeps us struggling financially, especially those of us who are natural born caregivers. A few definitions for the sake of clarity.
Caregivers are those who care for others. Care giving is a noble and compassionate calling; we give care to people and situations so that they heal, grow, and prosper. Yep, that’s a good thing. But like any good thing, too much or misdirected care giving can cause an imbalance. At that point ti becomes caretaking.
I use the term caretaking to signify a change in power. Using the example of care giving an individual, care giving is giving care to that person when he/she cannot do for him/her self. Example, when a person is bedridden from a car accident.
Caretaking is giving care to someone who needs to do for their self in order to regain their sense of self and empowerment. Example: Continuing to care for that person after they have healed, but are stuck in self-pity, blame, etc., and unwilling to get on with their life.
Going further, when we caretake, we are taking the person’s power away by making the choices and taking the actions that they need to make, and take.