Three years of night duty gave me a great perspective on
care. Night gives us a different relationship to ourselves and to the world
around us. It throws us back on ourselves. During the day all our established
roles prevail. At night quiet rules, time passes slowly, and caregiver and
patient meet directly and intensively. In the stillness of the night, faced
with one another, they recall that they are human individualities, each alone
in their skin. And yet the caregiver is completely at the service of the
patient. That is why, in Holland,
nurses are called "Sister" or "Brother."
Care is archetypal. Life without care is unthinkable. Life
must be nurtured and cared for so it can survive. Quality of care knits the
purely physical body with the etheric (vital) body.
When we go to sleep we let go of consciousness, but our
etheric remains ever present and active, nurturing the physical body without
pause. Care means supporting the etheric life body when it weakens in its work.
Normally we trust that our bodies are taken care of while we
sleep. During illness the caregiver remains wakeful and present to supplement
what the etheric body cannot quite manage.
The Art of Caring
Instinctive or intuitive caregiving is almost a thing of the
past. Parents take birthing courses to learn how to take care of their newborn.
Just one hundred years ago people didn't have to do that.. They simply knew
how. Ancient, 'primitive' cultures had an instinctive understanding
of the world, including illness. It was part of life. Relearning the art of
caring for others belongs to one of the greatest cultural challenges of our
time.
Home Care:
Opportunities and Challenges
Whoever wants to take care of someone else needs resolve and
preparation. The payoff is enrichment beyond any theory. However home care
needs professional support and teaching or it can become materially, technically,
and humanly burdensome. A lay caregiver needs to have an understanding of the
illness as well as recognition of his/her own limitations.
Washing, Water
Cleansing is an archetypal care activity. How do you wash
and refresh the bedridden person? Tap water is no longer as healing as well or
spring water once was. However the bath essences of Weleda or Wala enhance the
washing water tremendously. They contain true etheric oils. Thus a bath with
Rosemary stimulates the circulation in a way that involves the whole person
while Lavender Bath has the opposite effect; it relaxes and calms, and helps
with sleep.
Touch as an Expression of Trust
Touching someone's skin can call forth shyness and
uncertainty. We find life easiest to touch while it is still "innocent"
a baby or young child. Touching an adult in a care situation is harder, and yet
touch is perhaps the most central element in care. The caregiver touches the
patient without demanding anything in return. This is the mystery of serving,
mediating between life necessity and individual dignity.
A rhythmic embrocation reminds the patient that he/she is a
higher being, separate from the age or condition of the physical body. It
appeals directly to their higher individuality, and can initiate healing. The
patient decides freely how and if to react, and almost always they do have the
longing to react, and so create the basis, out of their own strength, to change and heal themselves.
Joop Gruen, from
Holland, has been nursing in anthroposophical clinics for the past 21 years. Reprinted
with kind permission: Weleda Nachrichten.