HeartBeat

Everyone goes through times when the bad exceeds the good in our life. Everyone experiences brief moments of anguish. Or maybe everything seems to go very wrong very quickly, and doom and gloom overshadow our ability to be positive. I'm not talking about depression; I'm talking about situational sadness. We may feel justified for throwing the pity party of the century. One bad day does give us room to process and deal with our feelings and reality. You are allowed to cry, scream, and pout in privacy. Tears are a natural process. This doesn't change your circumstances, but it does placate the soul. When you give yourself permission to cry, you are processing and physically releasing negativity. Just don't stay there because the negative thoughts are not helpful. Negative thoughts underscore your resentment and despair. This does nothing to change your circumstances. In terms of crying, society places this unrealistic burden of guilt, shame, and judgment. It is vita...

Compassion Fatigue is best described by Charles Figley, a Trauma Therapist: "We have not been directly exposed to the trauma scene, but we hear the story told with such intensity, or we hear similar stories so often, or we have the gift and curse of extreme empathy, and we suffer. We feel the feelings of our clients. We experience their fears. We dream their dreams. Eventually, we lose a certain spark of optimism, humor, and hope. We tire. We aren’t sick, but we aren’t ourselves.” Compassion Fatigue is most widely experienced by caretakers, educators, social workers, nurses, doctors, emergency responders, veterinarians, and animal rescue workers. Basically, anyone who helps people or animals in distress can fall victim to the secondary traumatic stress caused by the preoccupation with the damaged subject. Caring too much can hurt. When the focus is on others, and self-care is disregarded, destructive behaviors can take root. Do you consistently wake up tired in the morning? D...

 Most Americans have come to know Veteran's Day as a day for store sales and parades and free food for veterans. But for some, this day resonates with a deep bourdon note of a church organ. So many innocent years lost. We celebrated the life of my Uncle Carl, a former teacher and a proud veteran who served in the Army in Germany during the Vietnam War. Later his work with the Immigration and Naturalization Service eventually led to lead the National Firearms Unit in Altoona, PA, for several years. His last post before his retirement was serving in Washington, D.C. as a Deputy Director of the National Firearms and Tactical Training Unit. My Uncle Carl pursued his lifelong passion. He was a marksman and a competitive shooter, and he achieved the highest rating of High Master in the Police Pistol Combat competitive arena. He then represented the United States at the World Police and Fire Games in Calgary and Germany. To add to his accolades, he was on the Border Patrol (and l...

My neighbor clearcut his property a few years ago, mostly tall white pines, which had an impact on the vegetation of my property. For example, my shade garden became a heated hotbed, roasting my hostas. The increased exposure and sunlight boosted the regeneration of shelterwood, where food and shelter are an abundant supply for wildlife: squirrels, deer, fox, birds. I have to continually manage the regrowth to avoid overgrowth. His clear-cutting approach also imposed much vulnerability to the winds. I now have a lot of deadfall as only the sturdy and windfirm trees stand the test of time. Although my neighbor tried to convince me to do the same clear-cutting method, the white pines that have stood for centuries still stand on my lot. Despite the emotionally charged conversation, I approached the situation with logic and reasoning, weighing the pros and the cons. Vilifying the land or my neighbor was not an option. Sure, piled with the heavy snow and ice, the limbs come crashing down,...