Friday word prompt: Care

Dictionary.com says to care is to give serious attention to,
to protect, to have grief or suffering.
To make provision or look out for, to be concerned with
and give special attention to, to watch over
and be responsible for, to be alert and protective over,
to have a state of mind where anxiety, worry or concern makes one troubled. To act on, attend to or deal with.
To Care:
It is putting your heart out there to be hurt.
To be walked on not of course in a literal way but in a emotional ‘spiritual’ kind of way.
If we care, we give something of ourselves to another.
If we say to someone, “I care for you.”
We are saying to them there is connection, there is closeness and hope in the relationship.
Leo Buscaglia said:
“Too often we underestimate the power of touch,
a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential
to turn a life around.”
It takes effort and responsibility to care for something.
We cannot be selfish in this kind of ‘process’.
If someone falls down and seems to be struggling or they are going down the wrong path, if we care for them,
we can say to them, “I care enough to not let you continue
this path you are on, you can do better and you have more potential.”
Richard Paul Evans said:
“Sometimes it’s not the strength
but the gentleness that cracks the hardest shells.”
When I first began the therapy process with the last therapist who I worked with, he told me he sensed I needed gentleness and time, kindness and patience and because he ‘cared’ that was what we would work on in order for the therapy process to begin.
He knew it would take effort on his part to ‘care enough’ to earn my trust in him and let him help me.
When we care for someone, we choose the direction the relationship is going in a positive and healthy direction.
To care:
To have the state of mind where, if they are hurting, we hurt with them, and we hope for them to be safe and surrounded by people who will help them.
Wanting the best for others is all about the process of caring.
Let us challenge ourselves to do that process more often.