We invite you to join us for in person or online every first Thursday of the month morning sangha.
You don’t need to register for in person, just come to 3812 Northampton St. NW, Washington DC 20015 (the door next to Circle Yoga).
Mindful Caregiving
These mindful caregiving sessions are open to all who identify as caregivers. The topics and discussions of this group will be rooted in mindfulness practice and will aim to support those in a parental role, caretaking for an elder, or experiencing another type of caregiving situation by creating a compassionate, reflective space to come together.
No prior experience with mindfulness is necessary—all are welcome. There are no restrictions to join. While there is no fee, we invite participants to offer dana (a practice of generosity) to help sustain the gathering. If you have questions or would like a brief introduction to the practice, please arrive 10 minutes early.
Format: 7:00 am-7:25 am meditation period and 7:25-8:00 am dharma sharing.
For questions about the Mindful Caregivers group, please contact facilitator Jenny Medvene-Collins.
Monthly Topic:
Readings: “We are often sad and suffer a lot when things change, but change and impermanence have a positive side. Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible. Life itself is possible. If a grain of corn is not impermanent, it can never be transformed into a stalk of corn. If the stalk were not impermanent, it could never provide us with the ear of corn we eat. If your daughter is not impermanent, she cannot grow up to become a woman. Then your grandchildren would never manifest. So instead of complaining about impermanence, we should say, ‘Warm welcome and long live impermanence.’ We should be happy. When we can see the miracle of impermanence, our sadness and suffering will pass.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
“This is a chant that is recited daily in Buddhist monasteries: ‘Breathing in and out, I am aware of the fact that I am of the nature to die; I cannot escape dying. I am of the nature to grow old; I cannot escape old age. I am of the nature to get sick. Because I have a body, I cannot avoid sickness. Everything I cherish, treasure and cling to today, I will have to abandon one day. The only thing I can carry with me is the fruit of my own action. I cannot bring along with me anything else except the fruit of my actions in terms of thought, speech and bodily acts.’”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
Jenny Shares: Being a caregiver to both the young and the aging has made the idea of impermanence more concrete for me in many ways. My experience with navigating a little one growing up and a loved one progressing through a difficult disease has been an exercise in understanding impermanence, and seeing daily that we are all changing constantly, whether that is easily apparent or more subtle.
One hidden gift of my caregiving journey has been learning to expect, and sometimes embrace, this constant change. I am practicing letting go of the desire and the grasping for permanence of a situation, environment, or a person to remain a certain way. Impermanence has always been tricky for me to sit with. When I was very young, I stood in the doorway whenever my parents went out for the evening and would only close the door once I could no longer see their car pulling away from the house. Beyond any sense of reason, I was worried that they might not return. I wanted my people to be where I could see them, and I wanted assurance that nothing would change with our dynamic. Similarly, there have been times when I desired a sense of permanence with certain friendships, wishing for them to stay just as they were in that moment or period of time.
Through being a caregiver, I am learning to see some of the positive aspects of change. I appreciate Thay’s words about how without impermanence, our children or other young people cannot grow up, and therefore cannot reach new stages, form new friendships, or discover the wonder and awe that we hope for them to discover. This is a way of seeing impermanence as a gift; it is something we get to watch or go through ourselves, rather than staying exactly the same.
I look forward to listening to our various experiences with the practice of embracing impermanence or anything else that is arising on the caregiving path.
New to sangha? Click here for our Newcomers page.
No previous mindfulness or meditation experience is necessary.
No fees, donations are always welcome.