This verse reminds us of the unconditional love we feel for our child.  We don’t always take care of ourselves as well as we should.  Sometimes we are too busy to do so.  Sometimes we don’t listen to our bodies and fail to detect early signs of emotional or physical distress. But we always listen for these things in our child.  Instinctively, we attend to our child’s needs with an open heart and alert mind. When we feel sick, this verse reminds us to consider whether we are taking sufficient care of ourselves, as we would of our child. Any time we are able to awaken to these feelings and to the naturalness of this compassion, we gain a deeper appreciation for our relationship with our child.  We might also take better care of ourselves, an important lesson for our child.