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Apr 29, 2012, 04:33 PM
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Member Since: Aug 2009
Location: Fringes of the bell-shaped curve
Posts: 779
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Please don't misunderstand, roz - I didn't think you were directing your comments towards anyone here on PC and I hope I didn't come across as "scolding" you - just wanted to remind you of what you already know. Most of us have had experiences like you have described with people in our real lives - most of us have experienced the very same feelings you expressed, and have had to learn how to temper those excruciatingly painful feelings about others and ourselves by shifting our perspective.
As for the quality/quantity of the comfort and support you and others give here - I don't think giving hugs is any less important than giving advice. We all have different gifts - different abilities - different levels of knowledge and experience - what matters is our willingness to share whatever abilities and gifts we possess with others - and I think the quality of your willingness is top notch.
Even being able to post honestly about the negative feelings you are experiencing about yourself, others, life in general, is an ability not everyone posesses. Look at the number of views in the statistics columns - a post may only receive a few responses, but there are many, many more people reading them. Someone else may see in your words the very same thoughts and feelings that they are experiencing but are not able to open up and express or articulate themselves. In this way, you are giving them a voice - and even giving others reading your words the opportunity to develop understanding, empathy, and compassion for their fellow humans that they will carry with them into their daily lives - knowledge that might even effect a positive change in how they perceive and treat their fellow humans IRL - and even themselves.
Everything we say and do (even just giving sweet, caring, compassionate hugs) are pebbles tossed in the pond, sending out ripples that touch the lives of others that we will never know, changing the world in ways we cannot imagine. Who knows? Perhaps those who don't care or don't know how to care will learn how. lynn09
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"I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chattered all the way, But left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow and ne'er a word said she; But oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me!"
(Robert Browning Hamilton; "Along The Road")
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