When I wrote Luke’s Tale, I examined all the beloved Lab’s qualities that enabled him to give such unconditional love to Ash and Sara. What stood out the most were patience, tolerance and compassion. Those three characteristics just came through as I modeled Luke after a number of my beloved pets.
But, then it struck me that the universe was pointing me to additional ways for me to learn patience, tolerance and compassion-three of my very own weak points!
I’ve written before how Fergy, my Dutch Warmblood mare, taught a very impatient person (me) how to wait patiently for her to heal from injury and retrain. It took years. And then, just when she was finally there, I lost her to heart failure. For those of you who don’t know me, I have always been a “I-want-this-to-happen-right-now” kind of girl. But, Fergy taught me that it wasn’t the end goal but the journey that we shared that mattered the most. And, with that, came patience. The kind of patience that a dog displays waiting for his human to come home.
In the past year, another teacher has come into my life to illustrate tolerance and compassion. It’s not that I am totally intolerant and without compassion. But most people who are impatient have a bit of intolerance and let compassion fly out the door when they are in a hurry to make things happen. It is difficult not to be tolerant or compassionate when dealing with an 85-year old who has had a stroke and a great deal of memory loss. This is a person for whom I share caregiver responsibilities. Using Luke’s tolerance and compassion for Sara in my book, I am finding my way to being a better person for the sake of another.
I admit that the past decade has been filled with opportunities for me to learn and grow. Those opportunities are everywhere if we will just recognize them. I hope you will take advantage of them as they occur in your life.
Til Next Tiime,
Carol
But, then it struck me that the universe was pointing me to additional ways for me to learn patience, tolerance and compassion-three of my very own weak points!
I’ve written before how Fergy, my Dutch Warmblood mare, taught a very impatient person (me) how to wait patiently for her to heal from injury and retrain. It took years. And then, just when she was finally there, I lost her to heart failure. For those of you who don’t know me, I have always been a “I-want-this-to-happen-right-now” kind of girl. But, Fergy taught me that it wasn’t the end goal but the journey that we shared that mattered the most. And, with that, came patience. The kind of patience that a dog displays waiting for his human to come home.
In the past year, another teacher has come into my life to illustrate tolerance and compassion. It’s not that I am totally intolerant and without compassion. But most people who are impatient have a bit of intolerance and let compassion fly out the door when they are in a hurry to make things happen. It is difficult not to be tolerant or compassionate when dealing with an 85-year old who has had a stroke and a great deal of memory loss. This is a person for whom I share caregiver responsibilities. Using Luke’s tolerance and compassion for Sara in my book, I am finding my way to being a better person for the sake of another.
I admit that the past decade has been filled with opportunities for me to learn and grow. Those opportunities are everywhere if we will just recognize them. I hope you will take advantage of them as they occur in your life.
Til Next Tiime,
Carol
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