Skip to main content

How Does Compassion Work Exactly?



I saw a woman crying in her car yesterday in downtown Asheville. I have no idea why she was upset, but it really got to me. She just looked so sad. I realized that it made me sad, and I just sat in my car for a few minutes in the YMCA parking lot. Also, Noah was sick last week. Aside from the general exhaustion and frustration that this brings to our household, I just felt so bad for him. He felt terrible, and it made me feel terrible. I have felt for some time that compassion is one of the most amazing things about being human. Do all life forms feel the pain, joy, and anger of others? Is it only us? And how the hell does that work anyway? Not to mention that when we are closer to someone, we feel their feelings even more. And to be honest, my "compassion switch" does not always turn on the way it is supposed to. Sometimes I am just an asshole about things. And later, when I realize this and am feeling guilty - I wonder why I was not more compassionate. So, Why?


On another note, I accidentally came across this article yesterday that was pretty cool. Jessica liked it as well. This Link will take you to it. It is a cool little commentary on parenting and such. The last paragraph says, "Here’s the stone-cold truth of the matter. You must agree to give up sleep, sex and the society of sane adults for most of the first year of each child’s life. You must provide a safe environment for your offspring, even though everything in your house is now a potential WMD. You will forgo movie theaters in favor of Netflix, which you’ll never have the time or energy to watch. You’ll give up fine restaurants in favor of those that don’t mind having 17 crumbled crackers flung in a 3-foot radius. You’ll deal with projectile vomit, diarrhea, snot, and other disgusting bodily fluids on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. You’ll break up sibling fights, work to uphold self-esteem, and try not to react when your teenager comes home with an earring in his lip. Basically, you’ll agree to love, support and nurture your kids until the day you die.Posted by Picasa

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burrito Bracket

Eating a ginormous burrito at El Farolito in San Francisco, 2004 I LOVE burritos.  It is a passion that I share with my brother, and we actively seek out a quality burrito in almost every place we visit (Jessica is more of a Fish Taco kind of gal, but she enjoys burritos as well).  My love affair began around the age of 18, in the parking lots of Phish shows - where I could find any number of amazing burritos, cooked up on a dirty Coleman stove.  I just loved the explosion of flavor (and surprise) that came with each burrito I ate in those years. One of the the first times I visited Asheville for a few days in college, I came across Rio Burrito, a now defunct burrito-specific shop on Biltmore Avenue.  I went there all the time, and got to know all the nice folk who worked there.  So, I was quite disappointed when they shut it down - so much so that I wrote about it here.   But when Mamacitas opened in downtown Asheville in Spring 2004, I was smitten...
2 comments
Read more

Best of 2024

Ben Graham's 2024 Mixtape (The Best Songs of {mostly} 2024) Can You See Me Tonight  - Good Looks Misses - Domnic Fike Birdseed  - Merce Lemon Right Back to it - Waxahatchee Alien - Dehd When I Learned Your Name - Daniel Romano Away From the Castle  - Video Age One Bad Day - Spacey Jane That's What Time Does - Oso Oso Never Meant - Iron and Wine Big Blue - Hovvdy Deeper Well - Kacey Musgraves Where Were You - Tyler Ramsey Waiting and Waiting - Bonny Light Horseman She's Leaving You - MJ Lenderman Sexy to Someone - Clairo Stained Glass Window - Sunday 1994 Flowers - Real Estate Taste  - Sabrina Carpenter Run Your Mouth - Marias All I Ever Wanted  - Ivy LUNCH - Billie Eilish That's How I'm Feeling - Jack White Jerkin - Amyl & The Sniffers Burning (Live...Again) - War in Drugs Top Albums of 2024: Lived Here For a While  by Good Looks Poetry  by Dehd Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild  by Merce Lemon Tigers Blood  - Waxahatchee To...
Post a Comment
Read more

Im 30....seriously.

I am turning 30 today. So in the spirit of reflecting on these first 30 years of living, I am starting this blog. So, to begin - I shall update my status in life (this sounds complicated, so I will just try this in "list form."): Noah = greatest thing that ever happened to me. having a child was like an act of god, immediatly enacting a revolution on my perspective. Everyone tells you that " it is going to change everything." But I think I internalized that in a way that seemed to say ... things outside of me would change ie: schedules, sleeping, finaces, etc. Those things do change. But I did not accept that it would be ME that would go through the most profound changes. What I mean is, that the world itself has not shifted, but my view of that world (like Picasso in his Cubist period) has been transformed. It has been a traumatic shift for me, but in a beautiful way. Stop everything. "Icky Thump" by the White Stripes just came on the ipod. Sweet Jesus t...
1 comment
Read more