Wishes from Jacques Brel that inspire me

"I have been working at l'Appui pour les proches aidants for 12 wonderful years. Often, being a caregiver falls on you without warning. It turns your life upside down. It means dealing with uncertainties and unexpected situations. It means showing empathy, adapting, being resilient. It’s also about being vulnerable. Sometimes feeling that your cup is full.

Every year, Jacques Brel’s wishes come back to my mind and inspire me. This year, I wanted to share them with you, knowing that life, especially when we are caring for a loved one, is made up of moments of joy as well as sleepless nights. Knowing that sometimes, some people forget themselves in this journey of caregiving, putting aside their aspirations.

Jacques Brel wishes us love, the sound of birds singing, dreams… And this is what I wish you in turn. To listen to yourself, to take breaks, to get closer to people you can trust, who are capable of kindness, to allow you to set aside time to relax, to breathe easy, to enjoy the scenery… To listen to your heart and to do yourself good. To be able to discuss and reflect with other people to free yourself from what weighs you down and makes you feel guilty.

Above all, I hope that you will find support, resources and assistance. Don’t forget that Caregiver Support is there to help you, to offer you a non-judgmental space so that you can let go of your inner turmoil and refer you to organizations that can support you and provide you with a break.”

Magalie Dumas, Assistant Executive Director at l’Appui

“I wish all of you endless dreams, and the ferocious desire to accomplish some of them.
I wish you to love what deserves to be loved and to forget what needs to be forgotten.
I wish you passions, I wish you silences. I wish you birds chirping in your waking hours, and children’s laughter.
I wish you to respect everyone’s difference, because everyone’s merit and value often need to be explored.
I wish you the strength to fight getting stuck, being indifferent, to resist the negative virtues of our time.
Finally, I wish you all to never give up discovering, never give up adventure, life, and love because life is a wonderful adventure and no one with common sense should give up on it without fighting a mighty fight. I also mostly wish you to be ‘you’, and be proud and happy about it because happiness is our true destiny.”

Jacques Brel's Best Wishes for the New Year - 1968