View allAll Photos Tagged Compassion
Sam came from Zimbabwe to Zambia for his graduation as a pastor. What should have been a festive occasion became something else when his young son tripped over a pan with boiling water. The poor boy is in hospital with serious burns on his legs, and probably will have to stay for another two weeks. If you can, pray for this family!
My friend, Alissa, has tons of really fun tattoos. She is lucky in that she is currently trading babysitting services for tattoo work...hour for hour!
I watched this man stroll into Verdi Square with his dog, and then plunk themselves down on a stone bench, about twenty feet away from me (and way off to my left, so that I had to swivel quite a lot to even see them, which made the act of photographing them all the more difficult).
The man had obviously purchased some food nearby, and from the gusto with which he attacked it, I got the impression that he was indeed quite hungry.
As for the dog: well, I doubt very much that he was starving to death, and he probably wasn't even "hungry," in a meaningful way. He had probably already had a good breakfast, or could look forward to a good dinner.
But food is food, and he clearly wanted some. He sat patiently next to the man, looking at him with earnest, beseeching eyes. He didn't bark, he didn't whine, he didn't growl ... he just sat there, staring mournfully at the man.
And while the man was indeed quite hungry, he evidently had enough compassion to use his own (plastic) fork to feed his dog. And I'm pretty sure I would have done the same thing, under those conditions...
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I am taking a wonderful two-weekend class at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in March 2014, with the title "The Creative Process: Meeting Your Muse."
After two days of very intense discussions during the first weekend of the class (Mar 15-16), we were all given individual assignments to work on during the week leading up to our second weekend gathering (Mar 22-23). Mine was to focus on the concepts of “permanence” and “transience,” and to look for (photographic) ways of expressing those concepts. And during some subsequent back-and-forth email conversations with the instructor, I was urged not to spend too much time thinking about these concepts, but rather to capture (photographically) what I felt about them.
Well... How to avoid thinking about such things? I guess one can look at anything that one comes across and observe, “this feels permanent” or “that feels transient.” But at least in my case, it’s very hard to turn my brain off; and I found it impossible not to think about what these concepts meant. After all, if you remember the old adage that “nothing lasts forever,” it reminds you that nothing is really permanent; it’s just that some things are more permanent than others — and, of course, some things are more transient than others. I have a few things that date back to my early childhood, and a bunch of knick-knacks that date back to my children’s early childhood; conversely, I can look at various gadgets in my office (especially the technological ones) and acknowledge that they probably won’t be here a year from now …
What does this have to do with photography? And specifically, how can you “capture” the concept of permanence (or transience) in a photograph? By sheer coincidence, I happened to be reading a blog posting by a street photographer named Eric Kim, titled “14 Lessons Alec Soth Has Taught Me About Street Photography” while I was working on this assignment, and I was intrigued by what Magnum photographer Soth said at one point:
“Photographs aren’t good at telling stories. Stories require a beginning, middle, and end. They require the progression of time. Photographs stop time. They are frozen. Mute. As viewers of the picture, we have no idea what those people on the waterfront are talking about.”
and the additional comment that
"Photographs can’t tell stories, but they are brilliant at suggesting stories…"
and Soth's final comment on the limitations of a single photograph, with the observation that:
"You can’t provide context in 1/500th of a second."
So … I can take a photograph of an arbitrary object, and when I look at it by myself, I can conjure up an arbitrarily detailed mental “story” about when I first saw it, how long it’s been part of my life, and why I think it’s relatively “permanent.” But if I show it to you, that same photograph might well fall flat on its face — because you won’t have the context that I have. You won’t understand (and ultimately agree with, or disagree with) my sense of the permanence/transience of that object unless I can provide the context, which will require a series of photographs in order to provide the beginning, middle, and end of whatever story I want to tell you.
And all of this seems somewhat pointless if the photograph, and the associated story, is related to any kind of familiar “tangible” object — because even if that object has survived since the day I was born, and even if it will still survive after I’m gone, it’s not really permanent. It probably wasn’t here a billion years ago, and it won’t be here a billion years from now.
Indeed, the only thing that I could imagine as being arguably “permanent” in any meaningful way is human emotion. If we all evolved from tadpoles, perhaps our ancestral tadpoles had different emotions than we do; but as long as we have been humans, we have all had emotions of love and hate, joy and sadness, and the full spectrum of what we typically call “feelings.” My parents and grandparents had them, my children and grandchildren have them, and every generation from the ancient cavemen to tomorrow’s “Star Wars" super-heroes, will also have them.
So that is what I’ve tried to capture in the photographs you’ll see in this Flickr set. All of this had to be done in the space of a week, and I had only three “chunks” of time that I could devote to actual picture-making (alas, I cannot escape the mundane requirements of paying the rent and putting food on the table). Thus, I could only manage to observe and capture a few of the emotions that I saw all around me each day; I took some 900+ images in three different NYC locations, winnowed them down to 9 keepers, and that’s what I’ve uploaded here ...
A temporary guest in our garden, Kuan Yin, The Goddess of Compassion, 'One who hears the cries of the world.'
Compassion.
Exposition (MAS, Antwerp, Belgium).
Round glass window with the act of mercy (Antwerp, 19th century).
I wanted to post an image along with saying that I am touched by all the emails from people concerned about my safety here in San Diego. As you may have seen on the news San Diego County has been ravaged by fire. Out of all of this I have been most touched by the compassion that so many people have given to the residents of the county.
I'd also like to say that even though some of my family has been evacuated, our home, thankfully, is not in an affected area. I also want to thank of you that have contacted me with concern. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. :)
Compassion.
Exposition (MAS, Antwerp, Belgium).
Portrait of Truycken Verbeeck with testament inscription (Paul Pourbus II, 16th century) - detail.
In Kentucky, our Governor, Andy Brashear, has asked Kentuckians to paint their porch lights green to show compassion when a Kentuckian dies from the COVID-19. We first used some green chalkboard spray paint, that was too light. So we decided to use some John Deere green paint. It seemed to work a bit better. Praying for the families struggling with the passing of loved ones and praying for everyone else too that are staying safe at home.
Stay safe!
ODC
Mood Lighting
4/1/2020
“Perhaps the Animal Spirit is so great that one day it may inspire compassion in the human heart.”—Nan Sea Love
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
Compassion is a mind that is motivated by cherishing other living beings and wishes to release them from their suffering.
“It is lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others. If we make friends with ourselves, then there is no obstacle to opening our hearts and minds to others.”
Sorry, Minnie.
Personality Paradox - Part III
The events of the past few days have had a big effect on my creativity.
I hope you all understand that the series insinuates nothing to anyone, it was just a cool idea that came to me, so I am going with it. Go with the creative flow.
“In the beginning people take compassion to mean the feeling of wanting to alleviate the person’s pain or take it away from them. That’s usually what people think compassion is. A deeper level of compassion is, of course, taking action whether you feel inclined to or not.
Compassion is a kind of healing agent which helps us to tolerate the hurt of seeing the truth. The function of compassion in the Work is not to reduce hurt; its function is to lead to the truth. Much of the time, the truth is painful or scary. Compassion makes it possible to tolerate that hurt and fear. It is on the side of truth, and helps us to persist in our search for truth. The truth will ultimately dissolve the hurt, but this is a by-product. In fact, it is only when compassion is present that people will allow themselves to see the truth. Where there is no compassion there is no trust.” - A. Hameed Ali
"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am."
- Isaiah 58:6-9
This window from a former Unitarian church in Nottingham reminds us of what a true Lenten fast is.
eagle:
www.flickr.com/photos/greggobst/5154750290/in/faves-spiri...
music:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upt0Me8nzKc&feature=related
compassion for all who live in darkness
for ingo ;)
"Compassion and tolerance are not
a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength."
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Pronunciation: \kəm-ˈpa-shən\
a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it
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OK, seriously, we have the best listeners in the world. I have got to brag on them!!
Our "3 Days of Compassion" has come to an end, and our final total of children sponsored through Compassion International was 839!! That number is way crazy awesome!!! Our listeners have now produced over 6,300 responses in 6 marathons since 2002 - by far the most by any one station in Compassion’s history!
"Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human..." - Henri Nouwen.
Lourdes is a place of compassion and love, often a revelation of the best in Catholicism.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama
His Holiness The Dalai Lama in Harvard University
By the power of your single aspiration from countless eons long past,
now seeing clearly the vision of the supreme yidam deity,
Even though I do not abide in the essence of supreme enlightenment,
Even though I have been born wandering in samsara for successive lives,
Bhagavan Yamantaka, accept me.
© Saira Bhatti
"Listen with ears of tolerance, See through the eyes of compassion, Speak with the language of Love" ~Rumi
Om Mani Padme Hum
After seeing this image on various monitors, I realized the mantra (om mani padme hung) coming out her mouth is hard to see. It's important that this component of the image is seen as it brings new dimensions to the image beyond just a portrait of a little girl but a broader concept of those enlightened beings and their activities all around us . A yogini is a female knowledge holder or holder of authentic wisdom which transcends any 1 religious ownership. For the yogin and yogini every breath is a prayer born from the motivation to benefit others. So the image shows a young female whom isn't talking but her compassion is spontaneously expressed. The mantra itself isn't pronounced because the qualities and activities of the yogins and yogini's is often times very subtle and at times requires a tremendous amount of mindfulness and spiritual accomplishment to even perceive. Offering this explanation earlier or at time of posting is an oversight of mine. If the mantra was easily perceptible, cool.
taken in Hartlepool Art Gallery. There was a statue there and my husband Trevor suggested taking a photo of his hand touching the statues.
I spent all last week on a compassion teaching retreat and during a mindful walk found this on the beach
There is a meter du Temple place in Tongliang County of Chongqing City, has a history of several hundred years Shakya Mani Buddha, special mercy, this statue of Buddha is particularly effective, people have what demand as long as the heart pious no evil case what she will give you strength and blessing, so a particularly strong!