Tag Archives: compassion

Compassion. DO. Help. NOW. Pass it on.

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Seriously, a call for compassion in action.BETHEDROP

Mother Nature knows.

A single drop of water in a lake radiates energy to become larger and larger circles.

Isn’t that what social media is all about?

Isn’t this the beauty of it?

We share a thought or a joke or a (cat) picture with our friends and followers who in turn share with their friends and followers — and the circle multiplies.

And if we share a compassionate mindset, an awareness of being more caring and kind, each of us has within us the potential to influence and change the world to make it a better place.

We took this video during a camping vacay to Northern California.

Mother Nature’s Perfect Concentric Circles of Energy

Sometimes it takes more than words to effect change.

Sometimes ACTION is the answer.

I need your help

Not for myself, but for Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary.

Simply stated, here’s his mission: 

”We rescue wolves and wolf-hybrids that are unwanted, abused, etc. We give them a loving home with three acres to run and play, and all the food they can eat.”

I received an email this morning that touched my heart. (Tugboat man and I have kind of adopted Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary. His love and caring for the abused and neglected wolves and wolf-hybrids is an example of pure altruism.)

“I hate to bother u you have helped me so much and been so kind I really need help this month I had to pay $1000 for meds I’m flat broke I have no money for food for them so if u know anyone please send them to my page I use to 2 to 5 donations a month tell face book made me change my page I have about a week worth of food then they will be out they never been with out food since I started this sanctuary 15 years ago take care me.”

We can all relate to the fear of not having enough to eat, right?

Please extend a little compassion in action by donating some dollars to help him feed his wolves. Sacrifice your daily latte, any amount will help this worthy cause. If we all pitch in just a little — that’s all it takes to make a difference.

Flood his page with likes and follows! Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary Facebook Page:

1. Please donate. You can either send a money order or check to…

Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary
Mel Crockett
31 Cox Creek Lane
Cascade, Montana 59421

or

Paypal-  https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr…

2. Please spread the word to your own circle of influence. Just a click or two will help his animals get the food they need to survive.

3. I’m also asking for help to create a GoFundMe for him. I’ve never done it before; if anybody would like to work on a more sustainable form of support, I’d love to join forces.

4. Here’s a link to my post about Mel and his Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary.

P.S. Join me in donating and I’ll send you a gift, a GENUINE Princess Rosebud seashell necklace! Email your address to urjentbiz@gmail.com and I’ll pop it in the mail.

1000-Voices-Speak

The Art and Practice of Compassion in Action

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On February 20, more than one thousand bloggers are speaking with one voice about compassion — to share our belief that together we CAN rid the world of brutality, cruelty, hatred,, indifference, meanness, tyranny, animosity — the opposite of compassion. 

calendulacompassion“…sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.”

You know what I think?

Being compassionate should not end there.

It’s not good enough to simply FEEL pity and concern, but we need to DO something about the suffering in this world.

  • Take ACTION to PREVENT brutality.
  • Take ACTION to STOP abuse and pain.
  • Take ACTION by educating our children.
  • TEACH kindness for all creatures.
  • Become better stewards of our planet.

That means NO puppy mills, no circuses with animals as entertainment, no SeaWorld, no elephant rides, no camel rides, no dolphin slaughter, no factory farm hell, no running of the bulls, no bullfighting, no cat and dog ritual torture and eating, no dogfighting,

And especially NO wolf killing and NO coyote or bobcat or mountain lion killing contests.
We are better than this.
I hope…

I’m sick of hearing about babies killed and tossed in dumpsters, children who are abused and starved, football players who beat their wives, their children, their dogs — I’m sick of it all.

Practice cruelty-free living.

I have much admiration for Jen at Driftwood Gardens, who, as a fresh convert to veganism, is a shining light educating the world about the merits of living cruelty-free.

My story is that I’ve been meat-free since 1970, but only recently learned about the horrors of dairy, and now I’m practicing being successfully dairy and egg-free.

If you want to start your own practice of compassion in action, watch Eathlings, a film with Joaquin Phoenix, at http://earthlings.com

In fact, STOP all killing of animals. How’s that?World ME

That’s MY perfect world.

That’s the legacy I’d be honored to leave for my son.

1000-Voices-Speak

‎1000Speak‬

 

 

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Happy 100th Birthday, Mommy!

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Sometimes, caring for a terminally ill grandma is a beautifully tragic way to learn compassion.

Best mom and grandma EVER.

She was born February 9, 1915
and would have been
one hundred years old today.

I’m often asked where I learned how to cook and bake. I learned it all from her — everything from scratch, and that’s how I do it, too, carrying on that tradition.

Once in a while, tugboat man will surprise his crew by baking for them and it’s her recipe he uses: The Compleat Apple Pie…Deconstructed 

You know how I love to clean? That’s because she made a game out of washing windows, polishing silver; even ironing. She made it all fun, never a chore.

When Angel Boy had his medical scare a while back, it was my mom whom I channeled in the hospital. I remembered every single thing she ever shared with me about being a strong, assertive patient advocate — how to interact with doctors and staff — and to NEVER leave the side of a loved one, which is the reason why DIL and I were there 24/7 for the almost two weeks he was hospitalized.  We all firmly believe this is one of the reasons he’s here today. REALLY.

On a happier note, all I  know about fashion and style, shopping and Chanel, I learned from my mom and I’m more than happy to carry on that legacy.

When I spray on my favorite scent, Chance by Chanel, before I leave for the gym, I remember more of my mom’s words of wisdom:

“Don’t save good perfume for special occasions. Wear it every day just for you.”

When my mom retired from nursing, she moved in with us. After suffering from months of unexplained stomach pain and nausea, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Sadly, she didn’t live very long after that.

We cared for her with the help of hospice and she died peacefully at home.

Toward the end, after school, my seven-year-old son would climb on her bed, tell her about his day and feed her a couple spoonfuls of soup.

Sometimes, caring for a terminally ill grandma is a beautifully tragic way to learn compassion.

Angel Boy and my mom had a special bond; she would play Candyland for HOURS with had endless patience. When he was two or three or four years old, whenever he’d call out “MOM!” we would both answer, because for the longest time, that’s how he referred to us both– until he named her “DangDang”, which is how his brain processed the sounds in “Grandma”.

She would have been so very proud of him.

When Angel Boy finished graduate school, I bought him an Hermes tie because that’s what Grandma would have done — memorialize the occasion with an amazingly extravagant gift.

I can think of no better way to honor her memory than to shop for a little something special, ‘cos that’s exactly what she’d want me to do!

A few of my favorite vintage photos:

Stylish nurse ensemble.
I still have her cap and velvet ribbon tucked away, wrapped in tissue paper. 

MommyRN

Lovely afternoon skirt, blouse, and contrasting belt to highlight her curves.
Mommy

Me (very yellow with frilly socks) with Mommy, attired in a full-on Jackie Kennedy look minus the pillbox hat.meandmommy

Frank Sinatra was one of her FAVES.. She used to annoy me SO much by singing along with Old Blue Eyes whenever this song came on the radio: “It Was A Very Good Year”

Living in the Shadows in Sunny Shiny Southern California

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There’s another side of California that you might not know about.

Sandwiched between the manicured lawns of upper middle-class residential subdivisions in SoCal, there’s a microcosm of humanity living in the shadows — migrant laborers from Mexico in makeshift camps.

In my own neighborhood, just minutes from the beach and overlooking chaparral-studded canyons, hidden behind purple sage and giant coyote bushes, we recently went for a hike and found evidence that suggests there are still active encampments.

Mostly these men are invisible, ignored by us as we speed up and down our streets, shopping, caring for our families, and only sometimes do we notice these shadow people standing on the roadside waiting to be picked up for day work or at the local liquor store buying twelve packs of beer and money orders.

Like the crows that fly in and out of our trees in a raucous cacophony, there’s an exodus out of the canyons at dawn and back at sunset.

Whatever side of the undocumented worker discussion you’re on, it’s a  blight on our supposedly civilized society that in 2015, in this country of overabundance and excess, men and women live in the bushes without benefit of safe shelter or even running water.

When you scratch off the thin veneer of Pilates classes, weekly mani-pedis and facials, that fifty dollar bottle of pinot noir, and glance beyond Anthropologie and Sur la Table, in the hills behind The Forum, and probably most of the other open spaces that are clinging to life —  that’s where you’ll find them.

It doesn’t seem quite fair for us to have so much while others are living in squalid conditions.

It’s sad, don’t you agree?

kellytrail3

We especially liked the misspelling. There’s a certain poignancy.

There were several white rags hanging from trees along a certain path; we assumed it was to mark the way when it was dark.kellytrail2I think this is a creek, or it could be runoff from all of the developments.
Kellytrail Hard to see the turkey vulture among the clouds.
kellytrail4Do you know who and what lives beneath the surface in your neighborhood?

 

 

1000 Voices Speak For Compassion

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1000voicesforcompassion

SAVE THE DATE: February 20

Too many horrible things have clouded our world recently — even more than usual.

It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to see the beauty with my rose-colored glasses.

What this universe is crying out for is a paradigm shift toward less violence and hatred and more kindness and compassion.

1000 Voices Speak For Compassion is a brand new initiative.

A few brilliant minds (not mine) conjured up 1000 Voices Speak For Compassion and set a goal to get 1000 bloggers coming together to write about compassion on the 20th of February.

The goal?

To flood the internet with love and help create change for good.

After only three days there are already over 600 bloggers (and videographers) on board.

If you blog or make videos, PLEASE join us.

You can find the Facebook group by clicking the link below.

1000 Voices for Compassion https://www.facebook.com/groups/306227992909657/

And if you don’t blog, please read the many wonderful posts that will be coming — both in the lead-up to the day and on 20th February!

Can we change the world?

Maybe.

At least we can try, right?