As we enter a new year, this is a worthy time to remember to practice self-care, to take care of ourselves as providers for others. We shared this years ago and feel it is worth revisiting.

Double-booked patients, charts, emails, curbsides, phone calls, meetings. . . Work late and start again the next day.

It is important to find a way to rest in the middle of things.

Stopping, even briefly, allows us to step out of our suffering and see clearly. Without stopping, we run headlong from one iteration of suffering to the next, like a hamster on a wheel.

To stop means to let go of the struggle.

We don’t stop only after we’ve climbed our imagined mountain to reach the exalted top (like finishing our charts). We stop where we are. We stop right in the middle of this moment, no matter if our task is unfinished, and our battle un-won.

Stop to take a breath now. Take a breath before each chart, before each patient visit, before each email. Put a reminder “BREATHE” on your computer. Stopping is freeing.

Acknowledging your state of being, not turning from it, is victory. It is enough.

You are enough.

Adapted from writings of Jon Prescott, Anacortes Mindfulness Community

For more information, contact Dr. Leslie Estep, Dr. Anita Meyer, or Dr. Erika Pope at Hospice of the Northwest, 360-814-5550, or lestep@hospicenw.org, ameyer@hospicenw.org, or epope2@hospicenw.org.

All Palliative Pearls and other resources can be found by clicking Healthcare Professionals at the top of our website.

If you would like to receive monthly Palliative Pearls via email, please contact Pam at pputney@hospicenw.org.