We think of love as an emotion. And it can certainly provoke a wide range of emotions, from the all-encompassing rosy glow of romance to the bitter burn of jealousy. But as the pioneering scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto tried to prove (still controversial, but amazing nonetheless), emotions are actually energy, produced in the form of vibrations. Love, according to the mystics, vibrates at the highest frequency known to the universe. That’s powerful.
Anyway, it doesn’t take a genius to understand the happiness that a loving person can generate, or the sick feeling in our gut when we’re around someone full of hate. However they are communicated, emotions are part of a changing landscape that occupies much of our thinking. Positive or negative, they can infect us and be spread from one sentient being to another, including animals, plants and water.
When my parents recently celebrated their 63nd wedding anniversary, I was reminded of love as energy. Specifically, love from our caregiving team! When I arrived the following day, there on the dining room table was a raft of cards from family and friends, but also from these amazing women, who each wanted to honour my parent’s anniversary in their own way. I was touched and moved to tears. With my mother’s permission, I read each card and savoured the words that were shared. My heart swelled with happiness for Mom and Dad.
Our main caregiver, Val, made a special supper for them, complete with cake. I had bought cards (two years ago, I was taking each of them out to buy cards for the other, but this year neither of them wanted to go shopping, entrusting me to find something suitable), and she made sure that they read each other’s cards, more than once. She made a small videotape for the family to enjoy, and told me that she felt honoured to be in the moment with them.
There are many moments when I feel the energy of love coming from these caregivers – as Karen (our night angel) wrote in one of her reports:
23:00 Arrived, sang Blue Moon with Val, and did a little dance with Mrs B. Wow, she can move those hips! Off to bed sashaying as we went. Kiss on the cheek for dreamland. Turn down service for Mr B.
Their collective love, vibrating in their actions and words, spills over onto me, and helps me feel comforted and supported. These women generate positivity.. They turn difficulties into music and dance, and make challenges feel less daunting with their thoughtful energy.
I am so grateful. Below is a quote that one of our caregivers wrote in her card to my parents. May we all remember the power of love, and continue to let it work its magic in our lives, every day and with every breath.
“Love is an element which, though physically unseen, is as real as air or water.
It is an aching, living, moving force… it moves in waves and currents like
those of the ocean.”
– Prentice Mulford (1834-1891)
Unforgettable 
You and your parents are so lucky to have found such loving and compassionate care partners, the likes of whom will transform tragedy to treasure by their very presence. If all care workers were like these, and my angel Caroline, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia would be much easier and less stressful to deal with for the people who live with dementia as well as their families and friends. I hope this kind of care will one day be the norm rather than the exception.
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Well said, Susan! Spot on.
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