Journal of Sacred Work

"Make not your thoughts your prisons." – Shakespeare

    "I don't want to go back to work," my younger sister groaned in the wake of Thanksgiving. After more than forty years of caregiving – both at work and at home – it's no wonder she seeks more rest than the last four days could offer. In addition, she is recovering from back surgery. Even as my sister struggled to regain her strength, my ninety-seven-year old mother continues to lean on her youngest daughter – both figuratively and literally. 

    Mondays are hard days for people who have begun to tire of their work. The very thought of a Monday can be a prison of its own. As I have often said, the key out of this prison is quite easy, yet few put it in the lock and turn it. Obviously, Monday's come every seven days so why waste Sunday dreading it's inevitable sequel?

   One of the worst "thought-prisons" is dread. We dread certain events and thus steal joy from the present. 

   Self-evident as these thoughts may be, it's so difficult to shake them. So many of our life patterns seem to exist within walls that blocks joy's gifts. 

   I wonder how much it would help caregivers along their journey if they could begin to notice that "thought prisons" can drain energy. The way out is to notice that dread is not more, or less, than a thought. Becoming conscious that we have built these prisons around ourselves can be freeing.

  Noticing and changing our negative thoughts frees us from their prison. The way to change a negative thought is not to ban it but to replace it with a more constructive thought. And one of the most constructive thoughts I know is for us to continue the practice of thanksgiving we were trying out again just a few days ago.

-Erie Chapman