Enough.
There is a picture I saw yesterday that I can't get out of my head: it's a photo of a baby bird coated in thick brown oil, standing defeated and confused... not understanding the weight holding him to the ground. He's dying.
If I lived near one of the coasts affected by the oil spill, I would be one of the people lined up with dish soap and a scrubber looking for animals to wash. I'm afraid I might not get anything else done. I might not sleep. I might have nightmares of tiny animals covered in oil that still needed finding, and I'd go back out to look in the middle of the night.
I can't help in that way, though. So instead I find myself constantly looking for new photos of the oil spill, but that's like pushing on a bruise every few minutes to see if it still hurts. If you do that it will hurt forever.
Sometimes being a good steward of yourself means saying "enough" to thinking about something sad.
Steps for dealing with an impossibly sad situation:
1. Say "enough." Out loud.
2.Take action. If you can physically do something about the sad sitation, do that. If you can't help, still find some kind of physical action to take. Even if maybe the only action you can take is going for a walk and trying to breathe the pain out of yourself like dragon smoke.
3. Take a break from thinking about it for a while. Give yourself a set time that you revisit the topic, and until then, surround yourself with things that are simple and good. Make a list.
-Brigitte
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Comments
Joe436 Friday, June 04, 2010
I use to just sit on my couch having imaginary conversation where I'm fixing the problem. It's not a good idea, just makes me sadder/angrier. Exercising didn't help; you can have imaginary conversations when running or lifting heavy things. So I tried that meditating thing you mentioned a while ago. I don't do it every day, but most days and when I'm in a bad mood. Trying not to think about anything when you're sad/angry is hard. But if you can do it, it does make you feel better.
romeo Friday, June 04, 2010
if one site can do this much damage -imagine what could be... had more of the other 700 plus sites went as well... chances are the motor oil in your car is from the same corporation and at the end of the day arco will still be arco. one bacteria or alkali may make a difference but so does one molecule. no doubt mother nature can handle this with a significant reflection on the food cycle. just make sure your palate can handle mutations on your dinner plate.
Don Friday, June 04, 2010
Just a bit of good news. I heard that that bird that was shown on all the papers, the one that looked like it was covered in chocolate (I am assuming you are talking of the same photo). It actually survived and is doing well.
Jessica Saturday, June 05, 2010
I was so sickened by some of the pictures I saw the other day that I wanted to DO something too, but I'm nowhere near the affected areas and can't go there physically to help. So I clicked around, read this CNN article http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/30/impact.oil.spill/index.html
and decided to click through and make a donation on the spot to Audubon Society, who is actually rescuing and cleaning birds. It's not much money, but I'm sure it will buy some soap and other needed materials. And it did make me feel a little better.
Bud Friday, June 11, 2010
Quote of the day
"You've wrecked the country...we need you to plug the hole, write the checks and shut up."
-- James Carville on BP