There is so much in the world right now for which I feel compassion. I’m sure many others are also joining in this sense of compassion, too.
Media is filled with the heart-breaking situation in Ukraine. So much destruction. So much death and injury and hunger and lack of shelter. The incomprehensible targeting of civilians in their homes, of food warehouses, of people who are trying to flee besieged cities. The deaths of so many soldiers on both sides, compounded by the fact that Russia is not bringing the bodies of its dead back home to their families. The millions of internally displaced people and the millions who have become refugees in other countries.
Meanwhile, the pandemic continues to cause suffering. The omicron subvariant is sending cases higher in many countries, just as most had relaxed their preventative strategies. Now into the third year of the pandemic, the accumulated losses are staggering. Millions dead, their absence felt by their families, friends, and communities. Many millions more dealing with lasting damage, some with long COVID, others with lung, heart, vascular, and/or neurological damage that they don’t discover until after recovery from the initial infection.
There are other armed conflicts, droughts leading to hunger, other disasters that cause suffering, and always the unfolding disaster of climate change.
All call for my compassion.
There are personal things, too. The neighbor who just lost his mother. Friends and relatives in medical battles. On and on.
I try not to be overwhelmed or succumb to compassion fatigue. I offer help as I can and support efforts for peace and justice. I don’t know if the people for whom I have compassion can feel that support or not. Perhaps, with so many sharing in compassion, they can and feel a little less alone in their suffering.
I hope.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is to write about a word that contains “comp.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2022/03/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-19-2022/
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Compassion fatigue…you may have described what I’ve been feeling lately. It’s difficult to watch the news and realize there is so much heartache and destruction in the world. I hope some day the entirety of the human race can create a better world with love and compassion.
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It is so difficult but the hope is there. I appreciate how many countries have come forward to help the Ukrainians at this heart-rending time.
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Joanne, it is so hard right now. The world, our nation, and even our communities seem to be crumbling. There is pain everywhere. I am overwhelmed with sadness and even the things I can do seem futile – but I still try to push that notion aside and do as much as I can. Sometimes I wonder just how much more our collective hearts can be shattered. Thank you for expressing this so well.
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Sending hugs, Maggie. I try to remind myself that people have come back from horrible wars and devastation and disaster before but it’s so hard in the midst of it when we can’t see any resolution. Perhaps the re-awakened sense of solidarity will bear fruit in the future and we can all rebuild what has crumbled.
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I hope you are right, Joanne.
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❤
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❤️
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Compassion fatigue still lingers from my long counseling career, but I will always care. Like you I do what I can when I can. Sometimes, all I can do is pray.
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Of course, you have a big heart, JoAnna, and have spent decades caring for and about others. Prayer is an excellent and time-honored way to lift up others across many spiritual traditions. It was very comforting to me to pray for Ukraine at mass yesterday. The homilist featured their struggles and the hope of a just peace. There was also a table set with blue and gold cloth and a framed artwork of a sunflower. Plans are also underway to collect money to send for relief of the physical suffering caused by the war. Each doing the sliver of work that is ours to do.
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Thank you for understanding. I believe all our hopes and prayers added together will make a difference.
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❤
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