Creature Comforters (for animal lovers)

[Brigid]

Stormy,
I had to push my big orange tabby out of my lap in order to type this.  I'm sure he'll be back again in a few.

I very much understand the reluctance to start a thread.  I don't think of it as being nish, but just that others probably wouldn't be that interested in what I have to say.  Too many years of being criticized for my opinion on things, I guess.  I do love to respond to other people's questions and concerns, however, and enjoy making others feel welcome.

I sense you have been through a very difficult situation and when you are ready to share some or all of it, we will be here to listen.  Don't ever think those thoughts would not be welcome.  Everyone has something to share and for others to learn from.  You never know whose heart you may be touching.

Brigid

[Portia]

Hiya Stormchild

but I think I was a bit too exuberant before,

you strike me as a fun exuberant extravert who likes people and wants to be with people.  You are an E in personality type terms? http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp I like exuberance but not sure I can do it, no, I know I can't do it in the way others can. Differences.

and not aware enough that there are indeed monsters in this world, and mostly they are other people.

Always other people! Yes? But, they're people too. We're all human, even those I call inhuman at times. Unless there's something I don't know yet....   take care

[Anonymous]

Hi all:

Wow!  Stormchild!

What a lovely poem:  "The house by the side of the road".

I copied and saved it to share later.

Thankyou for posting it.

GFN

[Stormchild Guesting]

Hey GFN, welcome back (belatedly)

Glad you liked Mr. Foss's poem. I don't know much about the author -- he was American, a journalist and editor, mid to late 1800s.

But do you remember Charles Kuralt's human interest series (radio, then TV) called "On the Road"? He used to travel the back roads all over the country and report on ordinary people doing extraordinary things. He used this poem in a story about a woman who did just that - she lived in a house by the side of the road, and opened her kitchen to anyone in need of a good hot meal, pay what you can, if you can, or nothing.

Watching Mum on the board last night, kind of like a cyber Florence Nightingale (going here then there, late in the evening, with love and thoughtfulness) and thinking about her, then about everyone here who gives that way, the poem just came back and I could hear him reading it. Has to be twenty years ago! So I Googled it, and there you are.

((GFN))

[Anonymous]

Hi Stormchild:

Thanks for the welcome back and the hug.

What a sweet soul you are to say the nice things you do and to notice such goodness.

It takes one to know one.

GFN

[Stormchild]

You are an E in personality type terms? http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp I like exuberance but not sure I can do it, no, I know I can't do it in the way others can. Differences.

Believe it or not, INFJ, 56-38-12-44.

I'll have to try this again nearer the end of my hiatus, and see if my emotional state affects it much. I think a lot of me has been shoved under a rock, lately.

[Stormchild]

Stormy,
I had to push my big orange tabby out of my lap in order to type this.  I'm sure he'll be back again in a few..... Everyone has something to share and for others to learn from.  You never know whose heart you may be touching.

Thanks Brigid... for the encouragement and also for the mental image of someone else having a big orange tabby in their lap.

Mine's a girl... and I had another red girl before her, one of those feral kittens I posted about before. This one's a Japanese bobtail rescue kitty. No tail at all, just a little round bud like a bunny. She's a clown, a real joker, and when she runs, she bounds, and her backside bounces up higher than her head. Again, like a bunny. Cute, funny, and very dear.

I think what I'll do is work on a post offline, and when I have something that really sums up what I've experienced and how it's affected me, I'll put it up. Thanks again for the encouragement.

[Portia]

((((((Stormchild)))))) I just popped back to make sure I hadn’t upset anyone. Oh yeah, I do that!  If that’s accurate, your INFJ result (and it’s only an entertainment-type test) you’re a guardian counsellor type I think? “champion of the oppressed and downtrodden”? Wonderful   and that’s your exuberance with people here, wanting to help and yet not wanting to hog the board or whatever you said? Where did I read that yesterday...., it was a quote from Pema Chodron (thanks Mum):

“We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.”

I loved that. By telling your story, you help others, it is true.

[mum as guest]

Stormchild: thank you so much for posting that poem.  It has such simplicity and power, and I envisioned my late father reading it.  He was that man by the side of the road. He always said "keep the faith" and he didn't mean HIS way (he was Catholic)....he just knew what got him by, and it was love and the faith that love would never abandon him.  I was so blessed in being his daughter.

Portia: is that a Pema quote? I'm not sure I posted it (thanks for the nod anyway) but it very well sounds like her!  She's on the cover of the latest Shambala Sun Magazine, and her article is "The Courage to do Nothing.... it's the antidote for anger and other strong emotions"  It's very interesting and thought provoking.  

If indeed it works this way: In my next life, I would like to come back as a Buddhist nun....my sister wants to be a tall black woman with a fantastic voice...   However, I may end up a cockroach....or in the clouds throwing a stick for my late dogs......who knows????

[Portia]

Hiya Mum, yes that's a Pema quote, found it in some women's history site I think. I like her words very much. Speaking of "The Courage to do Nothing" maybe I did this earlier today when I had a bitter response, a personal criticism, to a little nag I made. Instead of retaliating, I was calm and agreed with the response. It was a good feeling, not reacting and not wanting to react (although my emotions said 'under attack!' I let them go). However, I don't like that bitterness underneath the surface. I dunno. Would I have said that..I don't know any more. Odd. Groundless again! Without my stupid emotions, who am I? Does it matter?

I want to 'come back' as an albatross, no question about it, gliding over the Antarctic waters in all weathers, must remember not to catch tuna behind one of those human boats fishing with lines though. They may be dolphin friendly but they drown a load of albatrosses which is sad. About killing or being a veggie, I decided I'd eat animals that die naturally (why waste the protein?) but I don't think I'd kill for food unless there wasn't any other food. Could I look at a live chicken and think, hmmm, I fancy chicken tonite? Society makes these decisions fade out, if we had to face them in the supermarkets, we'd be a lot healthier and kinder both to each other and to animals (so long as we had enough to eat)....whoah I better stop there for now

[dre]

I Has anyoen else noticed this in their N? I suppose having no empathy and no love they just don't see the point of them.

I have. The ex said he never could understand "the purpose" of having pets. The don't "Do anything" and should be left free in the wild to do their thing. Oh, and fixing them was "against nature" and taking away their right to breed. (Just cuz he likes to breed with every available chick).

Strangly though, he really liked my cat. But she's an exotic breed, white hair, blue eyes. If she was your average house cat, she'd be worthless too.

He mentioned growing up their mother never allowed them to have any pets, not even a goldfish. I grew up on a farm, so I love animals, and he never had that pleasurable experience. (And unconditional love from your pet)

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