Love what you wrote about choosing your one thing!! It's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. "No one can do everything but everyone can do something."
Me too! I've found that centering myself in the question is the only way to not get totally overwhelmed by the prospect of helping when so many people need helping. Glad it resonated with you, too!
I always give money to peddlers on the street but there is this one woman who was in her late seventies very frail looking who I sure regularly and gave her money 1 day she came to my car and told me her feet were very cold I immediately went to the store and bought her a whole bunch of socks and a pair of slippers she thanked me so much
I've read that clean socks are actually the number one thing most homeless people need, in terms of supplies! It's great to hear that you're helping that woman to be more comfortable, I must get it from you.
I love the New Yorker cartoon contest! My submission was "Hey man, where am I? I've been trying to get home since March."
Totally agree with the using 2020 as a scapegoat piece - I get so frustrated when I hear that from peers. The issues won't magically disappear once we hit 2021, we've got a lot of work to do to redirect the path that led us here.
It's funny because I hadn't thought of the dangers of the whole "2020 sucks" line of conversation, but it is SO freaking dangerous and lazy. I'm going to make it a point to be more conscious of how I speak about the problems we are facing, because as you say, the turn of a calendar page isn't going to do much by way of default improvement.
No surprise, I'm crying! The story you told, the photo series, the airline video... tears on tears on tears!
What I think is most beautiful, though, is the bravery it took to realize that empathy is something to learn and nourish. So many people mistake strength for those walls we put up to shield ourselves from pain. Empathy is the true sign of strength. It's not easy, but it's so worth it.
And all of this is especially important right now. Through COVID-19, I've seen a terrifying lack of empathy toward the more than 200,000 families that have lost loved ones. People are willing to brush off these deaths rather than open themselves up to the pain of empathy.
And your comment made me teary, so it's a TEARS PARTY OVER HERE!
But you are so very right. Being empathetic requires a level of vulnerability, which is I think why so many people struggle with it, and would rather put up a shield than let themselves access it. The shield is easier, and turning a blind eye is easier, but I sincerely hope that people begin to let those walls lower so that we can start helping eachother with more regularity.
I could never eat another person I would starve to death 1st
Love what you wrote about choosing your one thing!! It's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. "No one can do everything but everyone can do something."
Me too! I've found that centering myself in the question is the only way to not get totally overwhelmed by the prospect of helping when so many people need helping. Glad it resonated with you, too!
I always give money to peddlers on the street but there is this one woman who was in her late seventies very frail looking who I sure regularly and gave her money 1 day she came to my car and told me her feet were very cold I immediately went to the store and bought her a whole bunch of socks and a pair of slippers she thanked me so much
I've read that clean socks are actually the number one thing most homeless people need, in terms of supplies! It's great to hear that you're helping that woman to be more comfortable, I must get it from you.
I love the New Yorker cartoon contest! My submission was "Hey man, where am I? I've been trying to get home since March."
Totally agree with the using 2020 as a scapegoat piece - I get so frustrated when I hear that from peers. The issues won't magically disappear once we hit 2021, we've got a lot of work to do to redirect the path that led us here.
It's funny because I hadn't thought of the dangers of the whole "2020 sucks" line of conversation, but it is SO freaking dangerous and lazy. I'm going to make it a point to be more conscious of how I speak about the problems we are facing, because as you say, the turn of a calendar page isn't going to do much by way of default improvement.
No surprise, I'm crying! The story you told, the photo series, the airline video... tears on tears on tears!
What I think is most beautiful, though, is the bravery it took to realize that empathy is something to learn and nourish. So many people mistake strength for those walls we put up to shield ourselves from pain. Empathy is the true sign of strength. It's not easy, but it's so worth it.
And all of this is especially important right now. Through COVID-19, I've seen a terrifying lack of empathy toward the more than 200,000 families that have lost loved ones. People are willing to brush off these deaths rather than open themselves up to the pain of empathy.
And your comment made me teary, so it's a TEARS PARTY OVER HERE!
But you are so very right. Being empathetic requires a level of vulnerability, which is I think why so many people struggle with it, and would rather put up a shield than let themselves access it. The shield is easier, and turning a blind eye is easier, but I sincerely hope that people begin to let those walls lower so that we can start helping eachother with more regularity.