Catalyst

[Minyatur]

makes me wonder how highly polarised beings are able to take on so much of others' suffering. I read a Quo session where they talk about Jesus's ability to know and accept all the suffering of the creator, or something to that meaning. That must be intense...

I think the higher you vibrate and the less it is great. You're just bound by the respect of free will and can't alleviate what doesn't seek to be alleviated in respect of it.

The challenge of empathy is always just expanding how much you let yourself feel within yourself. There's no limit except your resistance. Each step somewhat feels like that last, accepting beyond what you're currently comfortable with.

[MangusKhan]

I saw him again today, he looked really good. Bright, ice-blue eyes, seeing with a stunned new awareness of things. We had a brief chat, he kept clean since the other night.

I said "See you 'round." I guess I will...

I try very hard not to get involved with people, and keep things purely business, but sometimes it's difficult. It's such a reoccurring theme in my life. Sigh, add another one to the list...

[Sacred Fool]

I recoiled a lot really. The experience was genuinely frightening. I wasn't afraid of him, he was just a broken sad man with a lot of issues. It was more a kind of existential dread I felt afterwards, like what I had just witnessed was only the tip of a giant iceberg of suffering; had I even really made a difference? Really makes me wonder how highly polarised beings are able to take on so much of others' suffering. I read a Quo session where they talk about Jesus's ability to know and accept all the suffering of the creator, or something to that meaning. That must be intense...

A 12 year old may wonder, "I'm lifting 75 lbs. now, but how will I ever be able to lift 175 lbs?"  As your body grows, you can take on a bigger load.  Likewise, it seems, as your identification with self as that-old-familiar-thing decomposes into identification with the Creator, you can take on a bigger load of compassion.

One confusing step at a time.

 

[Glow]

Hmm, talk about catalyst.

In the face of this guy's suffering through serious internal imbalance as a result of, possibly, the driver doing the same for his own reasons, I'd say you navigated the situation with impressive poise, dude.  Rather than recoil at the icky, repulsive side of the magnet, you supported the positive side of the polarity.  The guy you met was suffering because he loved his daughter; that love should be supported, indeed.

I recoiled a lot really. The experience was genuinely frightening. I wasn't afraid of him, he was just a broken sad man with a lot of issues. It was more a kind of existential dread I felt afterwards, like what I had just witnessed was only the tip of a giant iceberg of suffering; had I even really made a difference? Really makes me wonder how highly polarised beings are able to take on so much of others' suffering. I read a Quo session where they talk about Jesus's ability to know and accept all the suffering of the creator, or something to that meaning. That must be intense...

To put this into perspective, a higher-class person might likely deal with the catalyst in a very similar way - though their heroin comes in pill form. Substance abuse is rampant in our society and using it to numb the pain of a severely traumatic event is actually quite socially acceptable. Hopefully your love helps him begin an upward spiral, instead of the likely downward spiral he would have begun alone. Blessings to you and him, and thanks.

Thanks Jade, you're right about the class dynamics at play. This guy had led a pretty sad life, not born into comfort at all. His first girlfriend had already died of a heroin overdose by the time he was 14, to give you an idea of the kind of experiences he'd been collecting up until this latest tragedy. He broke all his needles and threw them in the bin after he was done shooting up though. I like to think he will start in a new direction now, but I wouldn't blame him if he chooses to take his time.

I think knowing how to set up boundries was really amazing. I have a weakness of trying to shoulder people to much and I am learning. If you want to see an amazing thing going on in the world watch this tedtalk. Why I train grandmothers to treat depression.

It really shows the difference just listening and being there for people can make. We don't have to fix everything just offer understanding and compassion. https://www.ted.com/talks/dixon_chibanda...depression

It's also amazing to see how any of us could end up in their place just born in a different life.

[AnthroHeart]

It really shows the difference just listening and being there for people can make. We don't have to fix everything just offer understanding and compassion. https://www.ted.com/talks/dixon_chibanda...depression

Awesome, thanks!

I loved how he mentions the importance of listening. We don't always have to have an answer.
I see a therapist, and those times are some of my favorite. People just want to get things off their chest.

[MangusKhan]

I think knowing how to set up boundries was really amazing. I have a weakness of trying to shoulder people to much and I am learning. If you want to see an amazing thing going on in the world watch this tedtalk. Why I train grandmothers to treat depression.

It really shows the difference just listening and being there for people can make. We don't have to fix everything just offer understanding and compassion. https://www.ted.com/talks/dixon_chibanda...depression

It's also amazing to see how any of us could end up in their place just born in a different life.

That video was great. I like his idea of this league of grandmas sitting at park benches, healing the world.

It's really tricky trying to strike that balance between letting people in to help them, and keeping them away in order to protect yourself. In the past I had been like you and let people lean on me too much, to the point where they take it for granted. So now, I've rebounded and become too cold. I just can't have that situation happen again, where I get too close to a certain kind of person, and they just start slowly encroaching on every aspect of my life, wanting more and more from me, because if I'm really their friend, why is it a problem? Aren't we friends?