compassion – 2 Traveling Dogs

This is Peanut Butter Brickle. How often do you struggle with feelings? Feeling all the feels? Not wanting to feel? I do. A lot.

I try to act strong, because most of the time, I can be strong. But when it comes to my heart, my brother Digby, my strong demeanor melts like peanut butter on toast.

Digby doesn’t always feel the best. But I try not to think about it. When I try not to think about it, it is easier not to feel the feelings. All the feels.

When I do let myself feel the compassion for him and want to help him, I struggle. Because I don’t like taking on the feelings.

It is a stuggle to feel the compassion for others when you are afraid to sink into the depths of despair.

But as I have got older in years, I have learned quite a few things. Compassion doesn’t mean solving a problem for someone or fixing something for them. Letting yourself feel for others doesn’t give you the responsibility to fix them. Letting yourself feel compassion is sometimes all that you can do. Don’t confuse compassion with being a problem solver.

I think most of us expect that being there for someone may not be enough. But for Digby, when he has his aches and pains, I can’t help that. But I can be a listening ear. I can sit with him.

And just recently, if we don’t sleep by each other every night, neither of us can sleep. We need each other. We are enough. We are everything to each other.