Is it just me?

You know, your post reminds me of one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs - when I hear it I am moved to tears.  I think it is SO important not to turn away or hide ourselves from the ugliness that exists in the world.  To get buried in our creature comforts is to deaden a part of our hearts that is so important!  The key is getting in action about it.  I think you show a compassionate and loving heart for the hurting of others, and that is something beautiful to guard, nuture, and cherish in this world.  Do not listen to people who tell you not to look at the reality of the world, and get yourself in conversation with others who feel as you do and are inspired to do something about it!

On The Turning Away - By Pink Floyd

On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won't understand
"Don't accept that what's happening
Is just a case of others' suffering
Or you'll find that you're joining in
The turning away"

It's a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we're all alone
In the dream of the proud

On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night

No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?

I'll donate some $$ and maybe that will help. Somehow it just feels so insignificant though.

 
Cathy.. it isn#%92t insignificant at all.. so you shouldn#%92t feel that way.
 
I am somewhere in the middle of you and your friend.  I read things and do things to help in certain situations, but I also get very down by too much of it and I can#%92t allow myself to do that.  Working in a hospital with patients with severe and life altering disabilities for over 10 years now, I can#%92t internalize too much or I am a wreck at work every day. All I can do is do the best that I can to try and help others. I went from the “treatment” side of working with patients post injury, to now doing injury prevention. I won#%92t say that I don#%92t have many a day I feel down, depressed and am crying over things I read and stories I hear first hand…. But I also cry over the letters we get from kids and teens telling us how our program has impacted their lives….
 
You can only do so much and even the little stuff helps, but sometimes you must separate yourself from it to keep your sanity in this world.     
 

Cathy, there is nothing wrong with being compassionate.  It is so unfortunate in this "instant gratification, it's all about me" society that these things still happen and people turn away so easily.  We can only bury our heads in the sand so much before our feigned ignorance comes back to haunt us.  We might not be affected as individuals today by something, but someday we will see the error of our ways.  We can only hope by then it is not too late.  Just look at global warming, endangered and extinct species, to name a couple of examples.  It's okay to spend billions of dollars on the "war on terror", but not to truly help our fellow man and the planet on which we live.  I, for one, really don't get it.

Yes Gina, I love that song.  As soon as I started reading the words, I could hear it in my head.  It's very moving.
 
I know that we shouldn't turn away, but I also think that watching and doing nothing or very little is what's upsetting me.  I see people who are doing really amazing things and I want to be part of it.  Yesterday was a story of a guy who's retired but works as a full-time volunteer building homes for Habitat for Humanity.  He's taking a few weeks off to ride his bike a very long distance (can't remember how far) to raise money for another charitable cause. Man, I just have such admiration for people like that.  I really just need to get involved in something so that I feel that even my small part is making a difference.

I really just need to get involved in something so that I feel that even my small part is making a difference.

 
YES.. from your last post I think what you are suffering from Cathy is a need to help with some effort. It could be anything... there are so many places out there that can use volunteers, I think if you had something to pour your efforts into and to feel like you were making a difference somewhere then you wouldn't be so hard on yourself.  Between my job and volunteering with greyhound rescue I am pretty much "helped out" and I can't allow myself to be sucked into too many things. I have to let them go, but I feel "OK" about it since I have other outlets...  
 
I think an outlet for you would be very good!   

Shelly - from the description of your job, I can see where you would feel the satisfaction of doing something that helps others.  I don't think getting paid for it diminishes that at all.  The feeling of doing something that matters is what's important.  Working with the rescue is just an added source of gratification.  I'm not doing a darn thing, and that makes me feel crappy.  I say that when I retire..blah, blah, blah, but I really need to do something now.  One year, I worked Thanksgiving day feeding the homeless.  It was truly one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had.  So, why I haven't done more of that I don't know, but I'd sure like to feel more of that sense of fulfillment.

It was truly one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had. So, why I haven't done more of that I don't know, but I'd sure like to feel more of that sense of fulfillment.

 
Is there a hospital close to you Cathy?

Is there a hospital close to you Cathy?

 
There are several hospitals around me, but I don't think that's the place for me. I'm guessing it was my early experiences when I was 12 and my mom was dying of cancer, but I get very tense the minute I go thru the doors.  I'm an energetic person and I think I'd do best in an action type of volunteer program, particularly something outdoors since I'm stuck in an office all day.  Something like Habitat for Humanity.  Any ideas?

Something like Habitat for Humanity. Any ideas?

 
Not off the top of my head but let me think on it...
if you don't mind can you pm me the city you live in?

Shelly - I live in a suburb of Sacramento.  There should be lot's of opportunities around here, don't you think?  Sometimes I see things in the paper or on TV and think it'd be a great place/thing to volunteer for, but right now, I can't think of any of them.  I'll do some searching on the internet though.

Shelly - I live in a suburb of Sacramento. There should be lot's of opportunities around here, don't you think? Sometimes I see things in the paper or on TV and think it'd be a great place/thing to volunteer for, but right now, I can't think of any of them. I'll do some searching on the internet though.

 
Cathy, I found this webiste...
 
[linkhttp://www.volunteermatch.org/bymsa/m6920/c/opp1.html]http://www.volunteermatch.org/bymsa/m6920/c/opp1.html[/link]
 
 

a couple more sites...
 
[linkhttp://www.handsonsacto.org/AboutUs/index.php/index.html]http://www.handsonsacto.org/AboutUs/index.php/index.html[/link]
 
[linkhttp://www.volunteersacramento.org/]http://www.volunteersacramento.org/[/link]
 
 

Thanks Shelley!!  I was looking too, but you found some good ones.  There are a lot of things that appeal to me (elderly, animals, children, etc.), so I'll just have to find one that speaks louder to me than the others []

Now THIS is what I call community.  Way to represent!