Helping people feel better causes the compassionate heart to quicken it's beat. True "Buddha Compassion", meaning being able to give completely without the expectation of anything in return, be it a thank you, or even the simple acknowledgement of your act, is the purest form of giving. Giving from a pure and tender place in your Self which knows only real love. An example of this kind of compassionate giving include acts that require no thought, such as grabbing someone out of harm's way.
When you were energetically guided to be a healer, what was your trigger? Are you able to recall the moment or circumstance which rang your internal bell, your calling to assist others in need? The reason I ask is simple. The answers you give are very telling.
On varying levels, healers subconsciously are led to healing others as a path to simultansously healing themselves. While one may consciously be driven by strong Nightingalesque convictions, in our existence is housed both a place of Spirit as well as a place of ego. This condition, also known as being human, creates opportunities in order to make us feel good about ourselves. While the Spirit aspect of ourselves only knows true "Buddha Compassion", the ego only knows "feed me, nurture me, acknowledge me, stroke me, value me".
The Wounded Healer Archetype in healers is often the driving force, and the desire is lodged in the very DNA strands of the healer. (This gives us cause to believe that karmic fulfillment leads to lifetime choice wtih leads to a number of learning experiences through untoward circumstances and traumas, but that's another blog entry). Healers are led to opportunities to help others, as during this time, the ego is fed, nurtured, acknowledged, stroked and valued.
Burnout, especially in nurses can occur as there is a clash between the ego and the Spirit. The Spirit screams to give with compassion and be unattached to the results! The ego beckons for a sense of self worth and self love extrinsically, or from outside of the Self, enter, the patient. When the healer provides care to the ill or infirmed, often times it is thankless. The ego rebels furiously! Reactions escalate. We tire. We burn out.
How can we neutralize the burnout? By adjusting the scales of your Ego/Spirit center. When you are upset that your good deeds have gone unnoticed, take pause and have a talk with your Self. Your Higher Self. Ask your Spirit to guide you, demand that your ego take a back seat.
Be confident and love yourself enough to give from your Spirit. Carve out a little mecca for Buddha right in the center. Your self healing is a beautiful process, your wounds are present as a gift of darkness, so that you may see the true light of your Being.
Love yourself enough to Nurse Your Spirit.
