Rescue Journal

want to know what the very hardest part of doing responsible rescue is?

Alison · Oct. 27, 2006

it is the self imposed constraints on ones behavior. sometimes i want to be rude, and sometimes i want to be unkind, and sometimes i want to throw a fit and not be the least bit understanding or nice....oh wait...maybe this isn't just related to rescue, maybe it is true of alot of other endeavors too....ok, so do you want to know what is the very hardest part of doing responsible anything is? it is all of the above. it is the inability to let loose, go to town and have a free for all postal moment (or two) and scream your frustration to the skies.

but, it is not just about self imposed constraints...it is about self discipline, and self evaluation and self insight, and self regulating the way you want to live your life. and since it is all about self...then the rest of the world shouldn't matter and i need to try to remember that.

i was thinking today that honor is slowly disappearing. i grew up with the stories of sir walter scott, charles dickens and classic heros like robin hood, zorro, the lone ranger, and the scarlet pimpernel. i learned in kindergarten that very first and famous quote.."i cannot tell a lie, twas i who chopped down the cherry tree" and i grew up with real life heros like gandhi and martin luther king...where is their like now? my father when i was child away at camp, sent me a cassette tape of him reading me the gettysburg address and abraham lincoln became one of my forever hero's.

where is the magic of a world that fathered these kind of men? and women with utter courage too like florence nightengale and anne frank and amelia erhart? where the heck are they in this day and age and how come generations that follow did not pick up their shining glow and carry on?

i think it is because we expect less of ourselves than we do of others. and i guess that is why i am tied up in knots today, because i expect others to be better than me. i better stop doing that right now cuz that is kind of stupid when you think about it.

the animals teach me, when i choose to listen...not to make judgements, just to live your life honestly, the best way that you can. to be grateful for kindness, to keep your eye on the happy bouncing ball and to share a cookie whenever you can...maybe as an adult, i found different hero's. less complicated, more real, and certainly easier to follow. i guess that is ok too.

Comments

Carol

wow jean, what a great post...i never thought about the frustration part of what keyes said...that may very well be why our society is so apathetic...i will have to tell my daughter this because this was her question for me last week (that 17 page survey that i was too apathetic to fill out!)

i have that ordinary people are hero's poster up in the barn...we should move that inside so when people cpome here to do good things they can read about themselves.

Carol

lol...i used to have that posted at kp when i was there....it made me feel not quite so isolated and afraid...there you go ...no hero's in rescue just the crazy ones...l am chuckling....i really am more like a round peg in a square hole and that i feel comfortable with finally (on most days). i will have to print this off again to remind me...thx janice!

Jean

Ah - today's heroes - one of my favourite topics for classroom debate. A few years ago I read an book on this matter which really started me thinking about it. In "Beyond Identity" Keyes says that "Moral goodness today is often portrayed as something unheroic, unattractive, deadly dull, excruciating." Heroes like the ones Carol names were heroic for things like loyalty, courage, honesty, sense of justice, etc. When kids (and adults) today are asked to name their heroes, the focus is on athletic ability, wealth, beauty, or simply celebrity status.

Keyes says that, rather than inspire, these kinds of heroes tend to frustrate us. You can imitate the honesty of a George Washington or the courage of a Davy Crockett, but how can you imitate the looks of a supermodel or the fame of a superstar? You can't. You may admire them, but they leave you feeling unsuccessful, frustrated, and ashamed.

I remember reading that real greatness is often "hidden, humble, simple and unobtrusive." One of my personal heroes who had a tremendous influence on me was an elderly woman I met during my university days. She was a philanthropist who provided a scholarship I was awarded, and I was a depressed, frustrated, angry single parent of a very young child. Amazingly, it was the start of a 30 year friendship. She was generous, kindly, compassionate, unobtrusive, nonjudgemental, and exactly the sort of person I would like to become. (And at 96, she was still delivering meals for Meals on Wheels!). She passed away a few years ago, at 101.

The heroes are still there - they are ordinary people who inspire and challenge us to be better people. Mike Bellah ("Best Years") once wrote "Our best heroes are still ordinary people, people who--because of their courage, integrity, faith and compassion--do extraordinary things every day."

Carol, you may feel uncomfortable when people say "you are a hero", but I do believe you fit the definition above. And I bet if you look around you, you'll find some others who do, too.

And maybe each of us reading this blog should strive to live our lives so that one day, someone will say "she was my hero".

Janice

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them.
But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Jack Kerouac

Carol

i think you are right, we all have heroic moments...mine i just editted out...some things are better not shared. what was i thinking? i better go to bed now...good night.

Chris Thomas

Wow - it sounds like you had a rough day. Being a student of history we sometimes don't recognize that we have heroes among us until a lot of time has passed. People like Martin Luther King Jr. were seen as heros by some but reviled by many. History takes time to annoint its heroes.

I think the answer is to celebrate heroic actions. No one person can be a hero in all of their deeds but we can choose to have heroic moments. In all honesty Carol when I look at you I see a hero. Are you perfect? Probably not. Do you have moments where you are human? Probably yes. You are a hero nonetheless. You selflessly give to the animals and the people of SAINTS. People come to SAINTS as much for you and your wisdom as they do for the animals. Next time you are looking for a hero - look in the mirror.