I'm Not Even Sure Where This Came From...

Are any of you Gilmore Girls fans?

If you are thinking that I should have said WERE any of you Gilmore Girls fans, then your answer is no. Those of us that truly love that show bought all 7 seasons on DVD and continue to be fans :)

I love that show. It's quick and funny and the characters are awesome. It doesn't hurt that it's all about a single mom raising a daughter and I am a single mom who is raising a daughter. It doesn't hurt, either that they have the relationship that every mom wishes she could have with her daughter. The sad truth is, that only happens on TV. Sometimes you have to be the mom, not the friend. Those are my words of wisdom for today :)

 

As it is with many of the books I read, I put myself in the shoes of the characters way too well and some parts of the story are hard to watch. The episode when Gigi is born and they show flashbacks to what Lorelai went through when she had Rory borders on traumatic even more then when one of them loses a boyfriend/fiance/husband, or when Rory leaves for college.

If I can put myself into the position to understand and feel compassion for a TV character, why then is it so hard to have compassion for real people. In today's society we 'see' the people that need our help, but we don't really see them. We tell each other that it's not our responsibility. We let ourselves feel good about putting a couple bucks into a donation bucket, but we could do so much more if we told each other something different.

We could start with:

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama

It is lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others. If we make friends with ourselves there is no obstacle to opening our hearts and minds to others. ~Unknown

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these human beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another ~Thomas Merton

If we held each other accountable for the amount of emotional and physical need around us it would change everything. If we stopped making excuses for ourselves and each other, things could be different.

When I started typing tonight I didn't expect to end like this but here it is, it is our fault. Not yours, mine, or theirs, it is the fault of us all that the world is the way it is. If we all do one compassionate thing every day, it would be a start and with that kind of start, we would soon have a noticeably better community.

With a more healthy community would come better countries... You see where I'm going with this. No, I'm not wearing my tye-dye shirt. I am looking at myself, at you, and at that guy down the street and if you have even the tiniest bit of imagination, you'll see it too.

It's called potential.



Alone At The Zoo

Ok, well obviously we were not completely alone as in the only people there! It was, however, the first time in years that Gwen and I have gone to the zoo alone. We were with no other kids that I was responsible for and no other adults.

It was fun and not too crowded because there were massive rain/thunderstorms on their way in. We had to take Gwen's camera because mine finally died and I haven't replaced it... obviously we haven't set the date on her camera lately!

She was very excited to see the bears, because of that series of books we've been reading called Seekers by Erin Hunter about four bears on a long journey. Unfortunately, the bears were in no mood to entertain. We went back to check on them twice, but they were sleeping the whole time, and they were not the only ones...

There were plenty of animals out and about though.

The highlight of the trip was actually seeing the two new clouded leopard babies that were born a few months ago. They were hard to get a picture of. This is actually the clearest one we came home with!

They are laying on the platform with the mother.

This was the last picture we took. It's the river otters frolicking in the rain. Yes that's right, by this time we were standing out in a good steady rain and soon afterward we were walking back the the car in a downpour. The rain would not have been a big deal if not for my phone & kindle and Gwen's camera all getting wet right through the material of my purse.

Now I have one more thing I want to keep in my purse... a plastic bag to keep electronics dry when we go crazy and stay out in the rain! Maybe it will fit in my bandaid box...

I Am The Child...

I Am The Child Author Unknown

I am the child who cannot talk. You often pity me, I see it in your eyes. You wonder how much I am aware of — I see that as well. I am aware of much — whether you are happy or sad or fearful, patient or impatient, full of love and desire, or if you are just doing your duty by me. I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater, for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do. You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times. I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated. I do not give you answers to your everyday questions, responses over my well-being, sharing my needs, or comments about the world about me. I do not give you rewards as defined by the world’s standards — great strides in development that you can credit yourself; I do not give you understanding as you know it.
 

What I give you is so much more valuable — I give you instead opportunities. Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine; the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities; the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible. I drive you further than you would ever go on your own, working harder, seeking answers to your many questions with no answers. I am the child who cannot talk.

I am the child who cannot walk. The world seems to pass me by. You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair, to run and play like other children. There is much you take for granted. I want the toys on the shelf, I need to go to the bathroom, oh I’ve dropped my fork again. I am dependant on you in these ways. My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune, your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself. Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them. I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright, to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent. I give you awareness. I am the child who cannot walk.

I am the child who is mentally impaired. I don’t learn easily, if you judge me by the world’s measuring stick, what I do know is infinite joy in simple things. I am not burdened as you are with the strifes and conflicts of a more complicated life. My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child, to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love. I give you the gift of simplicity. I am the child who is mentally impaired.

I am the disabled child. I am your teacher. If you allow me, I will teach you what is really important in life. I will give you and teach you unconditional love. I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you. I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted. I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams. I teach you giving. Most of all I teach you hope and faith. I am the disabled child.

I found this on a Blog I follow http://growingfromtheobstacles.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/i-am-the-child

Just Another Day In Paradise- Even At The First Aid Tent