Coast of PITY to Island of COMPASSION

I often wake up daily to the birds singing while everybody else at home is asleep.

Head straight to the bathroom, there I find water hot, warm and cold. toothbrush, tooth paste and the list goes on. All these are the usual things, nothing special about them.

And then, I read the news and find desperate people all over the world, whose most important need is to find some food to eat and a comfortable and safe place to sleep. Not just for themselves but for their children as well.

Some people are stuck in the bushes, seas and in all sorts of places seeking what most people already have and take for granted.

Our first instinct is “My goodness!!, this is really sad!” in other words PITY.

The big question for us is; How far can pity go?

To me pity is just recognition of a sad situation but NOT connection to it.

This takes us to the “COAST OF PITY”

We stand there, we look, we hurt, we cry, we worry and we wonder!! When will all these suffering end? We ask the question, why can’t the government do something about this? What of the United Nations (that toothless bulldog that does nothing)? How about all these celebrities with loads of money? Why can’t they help?

YET:

We are all able to get on the ship and leave the “COAST OF PITY” and cross over the “ISLAND OF COMPASSION”.

Where we can embrace the possibilities that have been there to:

• Do the little we can to help through contribution, personal sacrifice, words of encouragement and by being there for the people in need.
• Shift focus on the delayed Euro Tunnel journeys and disruptions to our holidays and placing our focus on the fellow human beings – men, women, children, sick and healthy fleeing persecution and war to Europe and all other parts of the world.

Surely, this is where we can all live – “the island of compassion” and be human again.

Let me end with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr.:

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” –

Over to you… and I!!

A good place to start is by supporting Tom, Shizuka, Dawn, Lliana & Josie fromKent for Calais here: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/kentforcalais

Or feel free to start crowdfunding for any other causes.

Thank you!!