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Showing results for tags 'compassion'.
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Drove up to see my Aunt this morning before she passes. Mom and I went over once I got into town. There was enough of an awareness that when mom said we were there, her breathing rate changed. Almost like she was struggling to the surface. I told her to relax -- that she didn't need to respond to us, and sat holding her hand. Told her I loved her. Weren't there too long, but by the time we left her breathing had settled back into a calm and regular (if shallow) pace. Her blood pressure (top number) was in the 50's when I left to come home. They expect she'll go this weekend. My youngest Aunt is, again, holding everything together for everyone else. Just once I'd like for her to be able to be the one to fall apart -- let someone else "hold it together" to help everyone else cope.
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This contains some descriptions of animal abuse. If you're sensitive you may not want to read on. I’m reading a book called, Saving Simon by Jon Katz. Simon is a donkey and Jon Katz is a writer. He writes often about dogs. This is the first thing of his I’ve read. It is sad and horrible, yet uplifting and wondrous. Simon was abandoned on the farm where he lived. Left in what they thing was a hog pen, with no water or food except for what the small boy who lived there could sneak to him. Rescuers found Simon nearly dead, covered with maggots, horrible sores and hooves he could not walk on. They figured he’d had to walk on his ankles they were in such horrible shape. His teeth were rotting and he was in pain. They found lying down where they believe he had been for some time. As they treated him, they discovered that donkeys can scream. They rescued the poor thing, and took him Mr. Katz’ small farm. Katz and his wife Maria had had three other donkeys by that time and took Simon in. They nursed him back to health, well as healthy as he could be. While all that is lovely, the full title of this book is Saving Simon - How a Rescue Donkey Taught Me the Meaning of Compassion. What is compassion? What does it mean to you? 1. Merriam-Webster says Compassion is: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it As I read this book and what Mr. Katz talks about I have to agree that with regard to animal abuse and neglect, the majority of us think it’s wrong. In fact we think it’s so wrong that we often say the perpetrators should be strung up, jailed, beaten or sometimes killed. Where is the compassion there? Why is it we can care so much for animals, yet have difficulty showing that compassion for the poor, the wronged, or even the farmer that left Simon alone, starving and sick? I know from my own personal experience there is little compassion to our fellow man. When I was on the street, I was yelled at, spit on, beaten, robbed, and unseen. No one saw a fifteen year old boy who needed help. I often wondered what they thought exactly. Did they think I wanted to be there? Mr. Katz, wanted to understand from the farmer, what had happened that would allow him to leave Simon in such a state. He went to talk with the man. However, the farmer was empty inside. He’d been through a lot; he couldn’t feed Simon any longer. He was losing his farm, couldn’t feed his family, things had gotten out of hand and it was easier to forget Simon. Katz asked why the farmer hadn’t just shot the donkey. The farmer replied he just couldn’t bring himself to go back there. He thought Simon was dead. Why is it, knowing how Simon was left to suffer, and what the farmer was suffering, that we have no compassion for him? All life on earth is connected. The only way to be truly compassionate is to free yourself from judging others. Only in doing that can we learn what compassion really is. However to do this, is a huge task and we are programmed to worry about our immediate world, for good reason. I judge, I read all of what was wrong with Simon and I hated the farmer. But as I let myself feel for him, I hated him less and less. If someone had shown him compassion, perhaps Simon may have suffered less. It’s a lot to think over but I’ll leave you with this: “Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival. – Dalai Lama XIV
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Many of us observe the world through a window Nature entertains us with wind, rain and snow Crows dive and swoop over tree tops While squirrels run and gambol with no fear, — wondering where the nuts are. My poetry has been limited lately .. but i haven't lost my sense of humour completely yet. Prose too, is suffering, though in the last few days I've been able to write a bit more on the new story @Wayne Gray and i are writing. Not a lot though, maybe 1,600 words over the past three days. It is hard to concentrate for long periods, at least for me. I read an article by Erica Wensley a writer for the Chronicle Herald. She lives in Halifax and like residents there is coping with COVID-19 and the worst mass shooting in Canadian history. There is a link to the article here. As she says, this is not the time to push ourselves. This is not the time to force creativity or productivity. Do not feel guilty if you order in tonight, or if you just want to watch silly sitcoms or netflix or whatever it is you like to watch. This was an ahha moment for me when i read this: Those who still have jobs are not simply working from home, but, as a viral tweet aptly states, “are at your home during a crisis, trying to work.” This hit me hard ... the truth of it. I don't know how long I'll be home doing my job. Some days it isn't easy at all. Some days it's just fine. There is too much unknown for me and i feel like i'm slowly cracking around the edges. Some days i can cope, others less so. I am overly emotional, often sad, without an obvious reason. Watching six cellists from the TSO (Toronto Symphony Orchestra) play Over the Rainbow together, remotely just made me cry this morning. Watching After Life on Netflix makes me cry but there's reasons for that. I think i need some comedy. If you can write or draw or read ... do it. If you do needlework or other crafts and feel like it ... do it. But do not feel bad on the days you can't or just don't want to. Doing some breathing exercises, like they teach in yoga can help, so can walking and other exercise. Something i've done in the past, with audio aids - hypnosis - can also reduce anxiety. It's a really cool thing actually. We need to practice self-compassion now. I know because i am very hard on myself usually. We need to say to ourselves, it's okay, you're not lazy, you're not pretending. We need to be as kind to ourselves as we are to our friends and loved ones who turn to us for support. You can read more about self-compassion here. When i started to read this ... i wanted to push it away, but allow yourself to read with an open mind. Hopefully, you'll find one or two things which may help during these trying times. Hang in there and be kind to yourself.
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