“Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors.”
― Andrew Boyd, The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe
By John Lewis
While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.
When I tried to find homes for my donation face mask, I called numerous shelters and soup kitchens. My “Buy one/Give one” face mask campaign had been a big success. I had sewn and sold more face masks than I had hoped for, but now holding up my end of the bargain was not as simple as I had thought it would be. Continue reading
Today a neighbor warned us of the icecream truck, asked us to boycott it. Yesterday another panicked because kids had been playing outside, kids who live in the same house. Continue reading
Now you are sitting at home, your pantry is overflowing with foods you bought for you and your family. The freezer is filled up to the rim, and the refrigerators -yes even the one in the garage- are filled with everything you could get your hands on. Continue reading
The Oscars and I have broken up years ago, not sure what happened between us, I suppose we were tired of each other, had different points of views, had drifted apart over time. Yet, here I find myself being mesmerized by an Oscar acceptance speech. A voice for the voiceless. Continue reading
Hiding behind a screen brings out the worst in some. How easy it is these days, to constantly offend and attack people with mean tweets and comments. I am often shocked by the brutality and coldness people can show, with just a few words. Continue reading
The suffering of people, how hard it is to watch. A report of the starving children in Jemen, just a few days before Thanksgiving rattled me, a few days later our table was overflowing with food. Continue reading
Sometimes, when I at least expect it, I come along a story that makes my heart overflow with joy. It’s never one of the loud headline-bait stories, it’s always a quiet story, one that hardly will make it to the front section of any newspaper -even though that’s where it should be. Continue reading
Sometimes I come across an article or a story that doesn’t leave me alone. People I don’t know -and never will know- are all of a sudden on my mind for days. Continue reading
