Posts tagged as:

caring

T. Parker VollmerDear Mr. Very Tall Homeless Man,

You should know I’m pretty burned with you right now. Hurt, even. You know that I know of your existence on my construction project, after hours. I haven’t minded. You’ve been respectful. And I have only had to move your things into an unfinished closet a couple of times. Generally, you move it and make a nice pack of it.

Peter PanWhen I leave you food and whatnot, you always give the cooler or basket back. The wiring was never pillaged, and you have never taken what did not belong to you. You always throw your trash away. I notice you mark off the days until you can’t be there anymore on the calendar I left with the date circled. One time you even left me a note and a page ripped from Peter Pan. I kept it. I felt like, even though we have never met, we had a relationship, and understanding of sorts. We get it, the boss and I. We do. And in spite of the insurance liability, we have let it be. A good bit of effort went into the convincing of your okayness.

And now this.

Why did you have to break that giant double-paned, special order window? The doors and handles were just put on. All you had to do was walk five feet to know that side door you use, was unlocked. Was this ok? No, Lord. It was not. No. And damnit, I’m hurt.

vandalismThe budget on that project is not endless. I run a tight budget. Tight. As in, I refuse to go over, regardless. Under is preferable. For instance, if you had five bucks for socks, you would get the best socks you could for five bucks. And you would try to spend four bucks. That feels good, yes? Well, now I am going to be over budget in that area and behind schedule whilst waiting for a new one. This means we have to switch a bunch of things around to work around this messy mishap. And I have to start looking around at where I can save the lost funds.

Here’s the thing, Tall Man, your plight is not lost on me. I get it. I’ve never asked if you are homeless by default, out of want, or addiction. Doesn’t matter the reason. It comes from pain regardless of specifics. I know you know that I care.
Meanwhile, since you ignored my note about employment, I’m going to have to ask you to make this up to me, personally. Otherwise, the consequences will be you won’t be able to stay cool and dry at night there. When I meet with you tonight, I want you to know I’m going to have your back to some extent. The respectful things you have done will not be dismissed or minimized. However, if you are dishonest about breaking the glass, or you refuse to take responsibility, it won’t be good.

In the end, I don’t care if it’s an even money trade. I don’t care if you sort the line nail/screw bucket and write us a letter. I don’t care if you do some clean up that was not your own mess or sweep the whole place every night. I don’t care. But you must be accountable. And I want you to expect enough of yourself to want to do this.

We meet tonight. Don’t let me down.

Parker

lunch bagPS. I’m bringing chicken, rice and beans for dinner. I’m bringing baby wipes. I know you love those things. This will be a new box. I’ll leave them if you care enough about what I need from you, too.

(People that know the homeless, please remind them to be courteous. Thank you.)

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We all know those times when something really hits the spot and we want “seconds”. Well, apparently this post hit the spot for a lot of you, because a whole bunch of you requested we repost it.  So, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and to let you know we’re always listening, we lay this offering before you once again.

And to tell you the truth, it has special meaning for me too…

Photo Credit: Bill Swindaman

John O’Donohue did much in his short life to popularize and demystify the history and lore of Celtic tradition and spirituality. His gifted authorship captures me its reflection of his own inspired living.

O’ Donohue’s focus was on Celtic wisdom’s teaching that within each of us is a world of possibilities and that we must take responsibility for our own choices and our own destiny. He thereby sheds a light on the sacred views of the Celts, thus illuminating the familiarity and similarity in their traditions to the time-honored beliefs woven throughout the rich blankets of so many other world cultures.

Perhaps John’s best-known work is Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom. “Anam” the Gaelic word for “soul”, “cara” the Gaelic for “friend”. Therefore “anam cara” literally means “soul friend”. In Celtic tradition, this is the treasured recognition of love within friendship, the concept that souls connect and bond across time and space, through life and beyond into death.

Historically, your anam cara is a person to whom you look as the person to share, confess and reveal the hidden intimacies in your life. With your anam cara you can express your mind, your heart, the very core of your innermost self. Your friendship with your anam cara is not just a friendship, but also an act of belonging, a place of recognition. Therefore, the most powerful gift you can bring to your friendship with your anam cara is your attention and awareness. It is your responsibility to be completely present with your anam cara.

John points out, it is not unusual for many people to have an anam cara of whom they are not even aware. In other words, their anam cara may be one who offers them a space of light and peace, but they do not have this person often present in their lives. This lack of awareness “cloaks” the friend and sometimes it is only through the loss of the friend’s presence and the feelings of “distance and absence” this causes that the true awareness of the anam cara is revealed. Perhaps we know this tradition by a different term: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

Photo Credit: HBT

You see, in Celtic tradition, as John notes, “The stranger does not come accidentally; he brings a particular gift and illumination.” And this is why it is said “that the “anam-cara” perspective is sublime” for “it permits us to enter this unity of ancient belonging.”

Discussing the Celtic spiritual thinking that believes the soul radiates all about the physical body, this energetic experience is often referred to as the “aura”, O’Donohue explains therefore when you connect with another person, when you become completely open and trusting with that individual, your two souls begin to exchange energy. Or, explained another way, your auras flow together. When a strong bond of this type develops, they say you have found your “Anam Cara” or soul friend.

John O’Donohue explains: “The Celtic tradition recognized that an anam-cara friendship was graced with affection. Friendship awakens affection. The heart learns a new art of feeling. In Celtic tradition, the anam cara was not merely a metaphor or ideal. A soul-bond existed as a recognized and admired social construct. It altered the meaning of identity and perception. When your affection is kindled, the world of your intellect takes on a new tenderness and compassion. You look, see and understand differently. Initially, this can be disruptive and awkward, but it gradually refines your sensibility and transforms your way of being in the world.”

Most important is the understanding that your anam cara accepts you as you truly are, cradling you in beauty, knowing you as light. The Celts believed the development of your anam cara friendship assists you in awakening your awareness of your best and truest self and helps you experience a greater joy in being with others than you know before it’s arrival.

Photo Credit: Svedek

The Celts also believed that this unique and special fellowship, when you lovingly and willingly open your life to another, brings with it a new dawn. You have a sense of belonging you’ve never known before, a deep sense of special companionship and all your needs for barriers, walls and shields tumble and collapse. That person has permission to walk, with love and care, into the deepest places in your spirit, your quiet and special places within, and the sacred ground of you, which you choose to share with them.

It takes tremendous courage to allow someone so close. However, when a friendship is of truth, of light and knows itself as a great gift it will remain open and trusting. O’Donohue quotes John Cassian who wrote in his Conferences “This, I say, is what is broken by no chances, what no interval of time or space can sever or destroy, and what even death itself cannot part”.

John O’Donohue’s makes the point that in everyone’s life, there is a great need for an anam cara. For in this love you are understood, existing in the love of your anam cara without mask or pretension. The half-truths, functional lies and superficialities fall away. You can be as you really are. This bond between friends is indestructible. For love allows understanding to dawn, and this understanding is precious for where you are understood, you are ever at home. So, when you are bestowed with the allegiance of your “Anam Cara”, it is believed, you have arrived at the most sacred of places, your true HOME.

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iPhones: please use the “Download” link to listen in Quicktime.

Music credit: admiralbob77

Volunteering for Disaster: Moments Count Interviews Red Cross Volunteer M. Ann Smith - background photo of Black Hills, SD near Ann's home

Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska gave special recognition to M. Ann Smith on October 26, 2008.  They printed the following biography of this remarkable woman:

Ann Smith is being recognized for both her work as a Chadron State College professor and her extensive volunteer work with the American Red Cross.

Smith was 29 years old with three children when she enrolled at Nebraska Western College in Scottsbluff. After two years there, she transferred to CSC and completed a bachelor of science degree in education in just one year and a summer.

For 10 years prior to joining the CSC faculty, Smith was a teacher at Bridgeport, where she coached the school’s first volleyball and girls’ track teams. In her first four years of coaching, her track teams won a Class B state championship and a runner-up trophy. The duties gave her first-hand experience in gender equity. She later served on national committees pertaining to Title IX, the legislation designed to give equal athletic opportunities to females.

She earned a master’s degree from CSC in 1977 and earned a position on the faculty 1980. In her new position, she coached the cross-country team until the school discontinued the sport five years later. She also coached the women’s track team for nine years. She was named chairwoman of CSC’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department in 1987.

In 1985, she was CSC’s first recipient of the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award. She also was active in the Nebraska Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and earned its Honor Award in 1987.

Her involvement with the Dawes County chapter of the Red Cross has been extensive, ranging from training lifeguards to responding to some of the nation’s most prominent disasters. As a member of the National Disaster Human Resource Team, Smith has been deployed to 16 national disasters in 15 states. She spent Christmas vacation of 2001 in New York City to provide relief of the Sept. 11 attacks. She also spent five weeks assisting victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Ann has three children and numerous grandchildren. Her husband, Bud, died in December 2007.

Red Cross Links:

Donate:

The Red Cross always needs donations of money, time and blood.  Below find resources to help you contribute in whatever way you choose.  There are also links to help you prepare for the unforeseen in your life.

Click this link to find out how you can donate to help the Red Cross.

Find your local Red Cross

Click this link to find your local Red Cross location by entering your zip code.

Preparing and Getting Trained:

Click here to visit the Red Cross website and learn more about how to prepare for a disaster in your area.  Get training in disaster preparation in your local area.

DOWNLOAD 22 different fact sheets in English or Spanish to help you prepare for Fires and Floods or Tsunamis and Volcanos. You name it you’ll find it here!  You’ll need Adobe reader installed on your computer to be able to download these fact sheets. You can click here to get Adobe reader.

Volunteer!

Click here to view the Video: Introduction to Disaster Services.

Click here for the main Red Cross Volunteer page.  Be sure to look on this page for links to the Online Orientation, Volunteer Match and Find Your Local Red Cross.

Donate Blood. To find out if you are eligible or to find a blood donation location, click this Red Cross Blood Donor link.

Getting Help:

Click here to get assistance with contacting family members who have been involved in a disaster, with finding shelter and supplies, with assistance for military families or to initiate an international trace.

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A Child’s Innocence

October 26, 2009

A child is born a soft, beautiful innocent.
Leaving forever their sleep of silence in the sensuous rhythms of the Sea of Nine, they will propel themselves ever forward. They look to us for safety.
A child is born a moving, energetic force.
Touching the air for the first time, their tender bodies shudder with bursting newness. They [...]

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Thank you Father Damien

October 12, 2009

I am not Catholic. But, I am one who has already spent much of my life inspired by the life and work of Father Damien. If you are unfamiliar with the work of Father Damien, then I am honored to be the one to introduce you to this fine and noble man.

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The best you can do

October 11, 2009

The best you can do
October 11, 2009
Share the adventure of time spent together, of traditions that communicate kindness, care and consistent love that echoes through the years from generation to generation.

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Dragon Path

October 4, 2009

Dragon Path
October 4, 2009
Are you talking yourself into a quest for the treasure or for the dungeon?

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57 Cents

September 21, 2009

57 Cents
September 21, 2009
What do you have to give? Are you holding back because you think you can’t do enough?

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Are you LISTENING ????

August 18, 2009

Are you LISTENING ????
August 18, 2009

Most moments are about a point of view. The person sharing the moment is as important as we are. We cannot control another’s point of view, but we can choose to be open, to listen, to hear, to learn.

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