Compassion

It's a new dawn, a new day, and I am feelin' fine!

This half of the week will be a bit different for the first half of the week. Joseph, one of my supervisor's has pulled me off delegations, and we are going to be pounding the pavement/ringing the bells (phones) of local churches to arrange meetings. So, for this week, no more delegations- though yesterday I was able to participate in the most profound of delegations that I have seen so far. The gentleman that we spoke with was by far the most receptive and made sure that the strikers knew he felt their issues were a priority. He took over 3 pages of notes! It was so affirming.

Continuing my reading in the book, "Of Human Hands" I want to share a selection from chapter 6, pg. 51:"Compassion, however is the most vital tool of my trade...Often a single words of understanding or a mere look of genuine concern is just the right dose of medicine to help heal a bruised heart...The real rewards are invisible and intangible. They are the warm feelings that penetrate my soul and the personal satisfaction at the end of my working day. It's these that assure me that I have done God's work and have done it well!"

When I reflect on the idea of a job well done I immediately go back to my childhood. We (the Mougey Children) had job lists on days off from school, and most of the summers as well. While we would never have admitted such thinking on our own, when prompted we would acknowledge that a sense of pride and satisfaction was a part of the pay off for our work around the house. That sense of satisfaction continues to guide me through every endeavor. Very rarely do I leave a job/vocation without a feeling of satisfaction- knowing that I have done my best-and feeling well regarded by the community I am leaving behind. The men that I am working with this summer are facing the notion that their regard for their work doesn't matter-the bottom line of what can get done the quickest, with the least amount of money is the outcome. I think that is a crime! Humans by their very nature are creative (we create children, pictures, music, art,-we even call it MAKING love!)and when the creative nature of humanity is denied, it is not long before we begin to see other human elements begin to disappear. The strikers say, "They treat us like their animals, they take better care of their machines than they do of us. If a machine breaks down, it gets fixed, if we get sick because of dehydration, we get sent home." What about the hospital?

It seems that there is a real sense of compassion missing from their work, from their boss, and at large, from the community.