The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

ALL-WAYS A SEASON

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In this era, where a lot of people are becoming more and more indifferent towards one another, kindness is coming at an expensive price. It is not often that you see people showing kindness towards others. BUT. . .I found this video recently where there was a prepared set of different videos to prove that wrong. Throughout the video, you can watch Santa providing warm clothes to homeless people or older woman praising stranger for doing cool tricks with skateboard and many others. As always I hope this afflicts the Caring Catalyst in you that by merely watching the video, you will realize that kindness in humanity hasn’t been lost completely and there are still people out there ready to show acts of kindness not only to their close ones, but also to any random strangers and make them emotional or even cry by their acts of kindness. THAT it’ll inspire you to bring a special warmth to Another’s CHILL.          .          .Enjoy watching the video.            .            .

AND REMEMBER:

THE GUY NEXT DOOR

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IN A WORLD OF BILLIONS DO YOU LOVE THE ONLY YOU THERE IS.            .            .

 

HERE’S THE THING

Brett Elizabeth Jenkins

I have been trying to love myself.

It’s not a big deal—it’s a minor thing really.

But until now, I haven’t.

I’ve hated the gruff voice in the morning

before I’ve had a drink of water

and the soft half-moons on my fingertips,

shadows of guitar callouses.

I would look at myself

in the bathroom mirror

and drink a pint of self-pity

telling my reflection

she’d never amount to anything.

I was making myself a ghost, a place

where a person used to live.

Why not love the soft downy fur

on the back of my neck

and the fibrillating minutes

between sleep and wakefulness

when I don’t know if I’m dead or alive?

There are certain impossibilities

but I don’t think falling in love

with myself

feels insurmountable.

We put humans in space

and grow watermelons without seeds.

Here’s the thing: you have to find out

how to do a thing

before it seems possible.

Love myself?

I decided to try.

A small turkey sandwich with the crusts

cut off. A foolish dance

in the shower. Whatever I want

it’s mine—it’s magic.

The dim hours before bed,

putting things where they go.

Letting the dishes pile up

then cleaning them all at once

on an early Saturday

the windows open

the birds looking in at me

the whole world in love

or at least, me.

(My thanks to the poet, via One Art.)

Uhhhhhhh.          .           .Let me ask you again:

IN A WORLD OF BILLIONS DO YOU LOVE THE ONLY YOU THERE IS.            .            .
because that whole thing of ‘loving your neighbor as yourself’ thing
takes on a different tone when that ‘loving yourself’
isn’t all that good.      .      .

The concept of “love your neighbor as yourself” is found in various forms across different religions and philosophies. Here are some examples:

– *Christianity*: “Love your neighbor as yourself” is a direct quote from the Bible (Mark 12:31, Leviticus 19:18, and Matthew 22:39).

– *Judaism*: The Torah teaches “Love your neighbor as yourself” in Leviticus 19:18, emphasizing kindness and compassion towards others.

– *Islam*: The Quran states, “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” (Hadith, Muslim 45).

– *Buddhism*: The Buddha taught, “Cultivate a loving-kindness towards all beings, just as a mother protects her child with her life” (Metta Sutta, Sutta Pitaka).

– *Hinduism*: The Mahabharata states, “This is the sum of all true righteousness: deal with others as you would have them deal with you” (Anushasana Parva).

– *Taoism*: The Tao Te Ching teaches, “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss” (Chapter 13).

– *Sikhism*: The Guru Granth Sahib states, “As you see yourself, see others as well; only then will you become a partner in heaven” (Guru Granth Sahib 287).

These teachings promote empathy, kindness, and compassion towards others, reflecting the universal value of treating others with love and respect.

DEBB54F0-5462-4A95-9590-719618857B44.JPG

THAT GUY

He stares back at me
and tries to blink a different version
of what’s reflected
miserably failing
to see
even what others may think they see
as any kind compassion
he always tries to show
thinking if he tries it enough
it’ll be true
as automatic as a warm sunrise
and a tired but fulfilling sunset

He looks again  deeper
as if he can look past the mirror
into the reflection
of his ever masquerading soul

No.     .     .NO
he can’t see the guy he wants to be
for the one he actually is
but that’s why he’ll get up again tomorrow
and look unblinking
with hope to see Someone different
and be Someone better
if for no other reason
than for his worldwide
Nextdoor Neighbors

JUST REMEMBER:

A LETTER TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL SELF

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IT IS GRADUATION SEASON.                .             .Yesterday, I had two granddaughters graduate from High School; unfortunately, one was in Wheeling, WV and the other here at the Stocker Center at LCCC in Elyria.  Erin and I split up as she attended Stella’s in Elyria and I headed to Wheeling for Ava’s.  Both of them made me think a little deeper as I have now graduated three separate times, watched my children graduate and now my granddaughters (with four more looming graduations in the future) all of which that got me thinking about their future and ours, a future, not even on our best days, we can predict.

The word commencement is derived from the French and was first used to refer to graduation in the 14th century.  (Uhhh, yeah, back when I was in school…SMILE).  It makes me think of a pediatric social worker who once told me, “Children love to anticipate.  They need something every day to look forward to in the short term and the long term.”  And I thought, “Gee, I like that idea as an adult.”  During these last 45 +years of ministry I’ve tried to make it my business to assure our folks that something good and exciting and needed is going to happen on a regular basis.  Do they feel it’s right and normal to graduate from old ideas and commence with new ones that help us grow and serve each other better?  It’s the season, so I wish all of you a happy commencement.

With Proms mostly over and High School Graduations very much on the the horizon, somehow this song, these words seem very appropriate.          .         .

Letter To My High School Self (Be Kind) By JJ Heller, David Heller, and Ginny Owens

I’m writing you this letter ‘Cause I’ve walked in your shoes I hope that you will read this When you’re feeling confused

The hardest part of high school Is living in between The person you’re becoming And the kid you used to be

Dizzy from highs and lows You can’t see which way to go I’ve been there too Here’s what you do

Be kind Be strong Believe You belong Love God Work hard Just be who you are

You want to feel important But don’t be fooled by fame ‘Cause everyone who loves you Already knows your name

And when you have a house someday There won’t be trophies on display There’s so much more Worth living for

Be kind Be strong Believe You belong Love God Work hard Just be who you are

Let go of the last times Celebrate the first times And keep your heart wide open

Be kind Be strong Believe You belong Forgive Yourself Don’t be afraid to ask for help Love God Work hard Just be who you are.     .      .
AND JUST WHAT WOULD YOU WRITE TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL SELF
Psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst.     .     .
THAT HIGH SCHOOL SELF
IS STILL HERE
Hopefully
L I S T E N I N G
L E A R N I N G
L O V I N G
(always loving, hoping for a little love in return and finding, having, keeping it)

JUST A MOMENT: THE TRASH CAN SYNDROME

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Usually, in less than just a moment, we already identify it in us, don’t we? This is trash. This is a treasure; which leads us to that classic cliché:  “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. And also, well.     .     .one person’s treasure may be another person’s trash, so maybe this is the question that we have to ask ourselves we so often do without verbalizing it in just a moment:  What if you trashed the treasure in other people as they to treat you like trash?  We all have the capacity to be talking dumpsters but that shouldn’t give us the free license to actually be that way.

We also have the capability to be these elaborate shelves.  It could really be what’s on our shelf maybe does belong in a trashcan

and there’s so much of what we have trashed that maybe doesn’t belong back on the shelf but shared with others as a treasure;

the treasure of a treasure that it is
IN JUST A MOMENT

JUST A MOMENT: YOUR DEW(DUE)

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If we were mandated to look at all things, literally to just pause, to take a moment and look at all the things that we miss in just a moment, we not only would be a appalled,  we would be embarrassed by what we don’t see or worse by what we don’t recognize because we are just too busy; we don’t have time or take the time and besides it’s just dew on a small little leaf so what?  Indeed, so why take just a moment for the moment to change you, that you may be changed by it, in just a moment. Not an hour. Not a day. Not a 30 day intensive program; No. just a mere minute moment.       .       .

THE SO WHAT OF DEW
It’s too delicate to even be a drop of rain
It clings to a small stem of tall grass
as if all of life eternal depended
on it never letting go
It withstood the trauma 
of being brushed up against
and worse, The deep wound of 
Being unnoticed 
Still, this small dribble of dew 
invites in a moment of your time
a slice of opportunity to know like it,
You too, may be unnoticed,
but have the power of just a moment
to give Another
A piece of Waiting to just Wonder
A sliver of Stillness
Serenity smidgens
to know that the so what of dew
is really a so what of you. 

JUST A MOMENT: STUMPED

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It’s what we do the most, isn’t it:
JUST TO TAKE THINGS FOR FACE VALUE
without taking the time to
TAKE A LOOK.          .          .
Let’s face it, there’s so much more below our surface, under our skin than folks or even ourselves ever can see let alone look at.         .        BUT:
JUST A MOMENT: the next time you feel cut off at the knees or when you literally feel chopped up what’s left behind is so much NOT what REMAINS
Be a help-self Caring Catalyst enough to
dig a little deeper; not far below the surface at the root of things there’s still much that’s alive, that’s taking in nourishment and may not sprout in the ways that it once did (which may be the good news) but now ready to continue to grow that the surface won’t reveal but the at the root of it,
STILL VERY MUCH IS ALIVE

The next time you feel
S          T          U          M          P          E          D
you’re far from it
D          I           G
just a little deeper
a little longer
a little more lovingly
YOU ARE MORE
(so very much more)

 

JUST A MOMENT: UNLEARNING TO LEARN

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What are some of the lessons that you learned, were taught, or even punished for not learning fast enough when you were a kid?

Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson to learn it in a new way that would benefit your life?

It’s not that we were taught things to harm us. We were always taught lessons to protect us from the world and yes, sometimes from ourselves.

Come on we, don’t wait for the rain so that we could go outside and play or barbecue or lay out.  We don’t dance in mud puddles in our bare feet or worse, our brand new shoes. We know better because we were taught better and maybe, maybe we need to know a little bit more.  Go ahead, take a walk in the rain, stomp in a mud puddle, even with people watching.  Who knows, who knows, the exhilaration that kids have could just be what’s worth feeling for us, too.
S      P      L      A      S      H 
O  N

JUST A MOMENT: BEING IN PLACE

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It’s one of the universal first lessons we’ve ever learned, and we learned it at a small age: IF YOU USE IT, PUT IT BACK!  We all know there were consequences for not putting things back where we found them; maybe the lesson is there for us to learn again, especially when we feel like we literally have lost our place, where there’s no one that can find us, or maybe we’re hiding in such a spot where we don’t want to be found?

And then there’s the new mandate today of STAY IN YOUR LANE, which is a nice way to say, KNOW YOUR PLACE!  But it’s true, if we just stayed in our places 100% of the time and we’re good little soldiers,  new worlds as well as new adventures would never be had because sometimes the greatest thing we can ever do is being in the wrong place at the right time for somebody else.

Hey, JUST A MOMENT–notice where you’re at, where you want to be and who you’re there for in the place that you are right now. And when you’re not being utilized,  put yourself safely away so that you could be available for the very next time!
FIND YOUR WAY TO BE WHERE YOU’RE NEEDED
WHEN YOU’RE NEEDED.       .       .
(even when it feels  OUT  OF  PLACE)

JUST A MOMENT: FINDING THE SACRED

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Maybe the question isn’t so much where do you find the sacred, the holy as much as where does it find you? Just where is the isn’t the sacred, or at least, what you call it?  Whatever you find holy, wherever you find sacred, whatever feeds your soul and gives meaning to you, don’t let any label like the sacred or the holy or the religious or the spiritual or the essence or the energy take you away from it.         .           .
WHEN YOU FIND THE SACRED
you feel Peace
WHEN THE SACRED FINDS YOU
you become Peace

WAIT A MOMENT–STEP BACK

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I           M           A           G           I           N           E
W A I T
A
MOMENT
STEP BACK
and just take another look at things, not only to see how they look
but how they actually are from just another simple perspective,
Y    O    U    R    S

“I was in darkness, but I took three steps and found myself in paradise. The first step was a good thought, the second, a good word; and the third, a good deed.”

• Friedrich Nietzsche
HEY, WAIT A MOMENT
STEP BACK
(see.      .       .EXPERIENCE things in another way)

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man