A classmate of mine died from an accident that involved his wife, two kids and the driver of the other vehicle, they all died. It was in the local newspaper which was printed for no more than one week and only two towns knew about it… A chicken loving, SUPER self conscious golfer Tiger Woods gets into a fight with his boo and gets a boo-boo in a little accident that sends him to the hospital for a few hours just to come out with a few bandages considered in “good condition” is just sad.

I hate celebrities because of that! Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana are all the same. They fuck up and the world looks at them like AWW with sad puppy eyes. Then they go out in public thanking them for all their wishes and prayers. What did we ever get when one of our family members or friends died? About 20 people, food, and a sad memorial.

Micheal Jackson got a month of freezer burn, millions or even billions of people crying for him and people talking about him for days! Celebrities don’t deserve the attention they get. Real people who make them who they are now deserve it!

Time for  a cigarette! ^_^ Happy holidays to all!

Hey y’all!

Just popping in to share one of my favorite My Cute Stamps sets, Ashley’s Blossoms. This is such a pretty set, I was so excited to ink it up and play – I even let Syd join me in putting these cards together! This card set was super fast and easy to put together! Check out the individual cards…

I hope your weekend is going well! I’ll be back in the morning with the next 2S4Y sketch, as well as some fun announcements during the rest of the week! See ya then!

*Hugs & Love!*

The DEETS: Card Stock (Papertrey Ink: White) | Patterned Paper (Martha Stewart: Purple, Sassafras Lass: Melon, Unknown: Red) | Stamps (My Cute Stamps: Ashley’s Blossoms) | Ink (Papertrey Ink: Spring Moss & Berry Sorbet, VersaMagic: Red Magic & Spring Pansy) | Punches (Martha Stewart: Butterfly, Corner Chomper : 1/2″) | Pearls (Recollections)

The HOW TO: Trim card stock to 3.5″x4.25″ card and round corners.  Stamp floral images, followed by the sentiment. Punch three butterflies in an accent color. Adhere butterflies to card front, then add pearls.

Over the next couple of weeks, I just slipped away for most of the time. People came and went, I answered questions, told them what they wanted to hear and then went back into my little world. My dog and me. It seemed this gangly nippy bundle of mischief was the only thing to put a smile on my face. He was like a ghost, went to work, came back, played the dutiful husband and that was it. Bathing, cooking dinner and expecting sympathy. The only way he ever looked at me was angry. I think now that his guilt overtook him and being immature he just couldn’t cope. Definately no excuse, but to him it was his way of making himself feel better. That, or he just liked power over the person he had already nearly killed and tried to suffocate! Even unintelligent people can worm their way in and make the strongest of people feel weak and small.

One incident I can remember, (obviously embarrassing), one night I suddenly woke up with this urge to pee. I still couldn’t get out of bed easily and as I tried to wake him, he told me to piss off. I kept shaking him and he refused to help. Ignoring my bladder I decided to hold it in and go to sleep. Big mistake!! I woke up in a pool of wee – great, now I know what it’s going to be like to be old! He woke up and as I burst into tears through embarrassment, yes, you guessed it, he laughed! Cheeky SOB didn’t have the decency to be a little sympathetic. What did I expect from the idiot that couldn’t even control a car. I was genuinely embarrassed, he got me into this mess, why couldn’t he clean up a bit?!?! Reluctantly he changed the bed sheets and I cleaned myself up the best I could. I remember little things like this because it wasn’t long after he tried to drown the puppy. We had popped out and Blue had opened the fridge and ruined all the food and crapped all over it in the process. Again something in him just snapped and before I knew it Blue had wet himself before he had shoved his tiny head under the bath tap, screaming that he was going to drown him. There was nothing I could do, I was helpless as he shoved me into the door belting down the stairs with Blue in his bear like grip throwing him in the car and speeding off. Panicking, I rang a friend of his, he was going to kill my dog! Eventually he turned up with Blue, who looked so frightened. My heart leapt as I knew at that point I had nothing I wanted to live for apart from that little puppy who brought a little light in my life. I couldn’t talk to friends and my parents were not far off killing him. No one could understand, I was trapped, trapped in a marriage I knew I shouldn’t be in but I couldn’t go home either. Things hadn’t been right for a while before the accident and people knew it. I couldn’t give up, even if it killed me – do you know what? It nearly did – again.

Since every time we meet someone we form a ‘relationship’, significant or insignificant, the word obviously carries different meanings in different situations to different folks. To some, it is horrifying – and they insist on having as few “relationships” as possible (not a bad idea, I’m saying) to others, well… the more the merrier. Yet the quality and definition of a relationship also makes the approach more insightful, if you think of it. But I quickly got off my thought… Which is…

here’s the random thought as it relates to courage of the heart: What is love if not a risk? There are no guarantees, except to isolate and relive the loves that are, for whatever reason, no longer actively healthy, which in turn simply keeps us in our pain or misery or loneliness. The act of reaching out and opening up one’s thoughts and expressions (yes, love, the verb) is in itself a life-affirming and positive act, no matter the result. It opens new places, removes old attachments and creates possibilities. I don’t make new friends or explore old ones in new ways because I want to re-visit a past relationship. No one holds a hand and wants to think of another person when they do so. That is not good, but we all have done it. Once. But if that relationship didn’t last because of tragedy or didn’t work for whatever reason, why in the bleep do I pine for it? If we are worried about a past hurt, then leave it in the past, don’t bring it as a measuring stick for the future ones for in every measurement we are reminded of the “failure” and we instantly taint the new moment with the colorization (black? red? murky? blue?)   of our past. It is perfectly fine to put something in a positive place in our memory, as long as we realize that it belongs in memory and that no form of magic can make it present again.

Life’s a bitch, the day sucks…. then we have go to sleep to wake and…. do it all again? Are you kidding? That’s the point. I’m not supposed to live today as I did yesterday. It would be a wasted opportunity.

To see something wholly is not something we want to do when it comes to our selves, or certainly our intimate or friendly “relationships”. It is too serious, too realistic and too often, too painfully self-aware to look at our place in something.

And “wholly” is something we all struggle with I think (I certainly do). How do we live our lives wholly? That would include our family, friends, children (which go beyond family since they extend our DNA, our sense of achievement and our youthful demeanor into at least another generation), romance and passion, personal achievement and sense of worth, artistic and charitable offerings and of course, spirituality.

So I guess my point is, for my mantra “Love, The Verb” today, is to approach each friendship as fresh and unbridled, each day as fresh and unbridled. I will try my best to stop pulling the pain from yesterday into the dawn of a new morning. The more we can do this, the more we can move on and uncover the gems of action in the only time we can, the time of now. And this will help us alter the manner in which we expect others to live up to some fictional character in our past and the less we will beat our seleves up for letting that “reationship” end or, in some cases, begin at all. We did not, actually, control it’s overall dynamics, only the moments in which we participated individually. Two people, swirling together, universal forces surrounding them, who can calm the oceans for even a moment is a wonderous thing. But it often, most often, temporary. The light changes, the wind blows, the breath sharpens, the day ends. Beauty may remain, and we take that with us.

We may very well repeat the moment again, we may not. We are not in charge of all of that – because there are others in the universe – even just one other – who must also step their love forward. We can only create singularly dimensional things on our own, tied to memories that are dragged like sacks of stones into the present.

I’m reminded of the U2 song, “All that We Can’t Leave Behind”… And am attaching hope to this new day, maybe the strength to let go of one worry form yesterday, last week, last month…. last year and make room for something that is swirling past meinthis moment, unnnoticed by the murkiness of a confused tear.

Love, the verb.

Photo by Alexis Rhone Fancher

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.”

- Robert Frost

Alexis Rhone Fancher

All Rights Reserved

© 2009

you,
like her:
to save me “from the last”

shall come- until your heart, as well,
be moved, like days, to pass..

and all will be forgiven
and all will be for love

and on again
and on again

till all are one above

~

i
like him
to save you from the last

shall seem-to you, “some perfect new”,
till none is left to grasp..

and all will be forgotten
for all is all for love

and on again
and on again

till all are one above

~

we
like all
are hopelessly amused

by all we show,
to all we “know”,
of others we have use[d]

and all will seem for nothing
tho all is such, in love

and on again
and on again

till none, at all, are left…

~

[the end.]

~

-sah

~

(music by prince; ‘solo‘)

How is a person supposed to feel when reading a mystery?

I think that a reader should feel…
–anticipation as the plot progresses
–surprise and shock at the plot twists
–interest and sympathy for characters as they develop
–awareness of how characters intersect without feeling lost in the intricate web.
–unable to predict what will happen next.
–ready to look up other books by the same author
–a happy kind of accomplishment at having finished a good read.

Is there anything I missed?

Roy Keane lambasts the Republic of Ireland’s attempts to get their World Cup play-off match against France replayed…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: world cup news. The blog is also related to: history of english football.

Richard Rorty

(source)

Richard Rorty has an interesting take on human rights. If we want universal acceptance of and respect for human rights, we shouldn’t try to argue about it. We shouldn’t attempt to work out rational justifications of human rights, or arguments that will convince people that human rights are a good thing. Instead, according to Rorty, we would achieve better results if we try to influence people’s feelings instead of their minds. And the best way to do that is by telling sentimental stories like “Uncle Tom’s cabin” or “Roots” etc., or by making political art. Such stories and art make the reader sympathize with persons whose rights are violated because they invite the audience or the reader to imagine what it is like to be in the victim’s position. The victim, who may be of another class, race or nationality and who seems so very different that he or she initially isn’t even considered to be of the same species and therefore cannot possibly claim to enjoy the same rights, is transformed by the story into a living human being. The sympathy engendered by the story gives the victim a human face. This person also grieves for the loss of children, also has an opinion and a moral sense. He’s or she not a barbarian. As a consequence, the victim can be given human rights.

This approach to human rights doesn’t justifying human rights in an abstract and philosophical way – something which according to Rorty isn’t possible anyway (Rorty’s a post-modern anti-foundationalist highly sceptical of the power of reason or rationality). Instead it motivates specific individuals to respect the rights of other specific individuals. So motivation instead of justification. And the focus isn’t so much on human rights themselves, but on humanity. When human rights are violated, it’s often not because people object to human rights, but because they consider the targets of rights violations as somehow outside the realm of humanity. Thomas Jefferson, for example, was very eloquent about human rights, but was a slave holder at the same time. Undoubtedly because he had convinced himself that negroes were more akin to animals than humans.

The big advantage of the sentimental approach is that is can convince people to accept others into the realm of humanity. Sympathy means after all the recognition that someone else’s suffering is akin to your own. Rorty harked back to David Hume for this insight:

Hume held that corrected (sometimes rule-corrected) sympathy, not law-discerning reason, is the fundamental moral capacity. Richard Rorty (source)

David Hume

Hence the importance of a “right to belong to humanity” in the words of Hannah Arendt (see here and here) and of the equal rights provision in the system of human rights.

This approach, or “sentimental education” as Rorty called it, can indeed be very useful, and I regularly use it on this blog (for example, there’s a blog series called “human rights stories“, and there’s also a lot of imagery used here). However, I think we should and can use both strategies, the emotional and the rational one. (I outlined the latter one here. In the field of morality, Immanuel Kant is of course the main exponent of the rational approach).

Thomas Pogge

The emotional approach isn’t without a downside. Human rights violations do not always occur because of a lack of sympathy or because of dehumanization. They are often the result of power structures, cultural practices, legal rules, institutions, international relations etc. Just engendering sympathy won’t do much good there. (Thomas Pogge is known for his work in this field). Moreover, sentimental education implies a willingness to listen – not a notable characteristic of many of the worst human rights violators, i.e. Taliban c.s. – and a certain standard of living that allows people to relax long enough to be able to listen. These are problems which Rorty recognized (source) and which indicate that his approach cannot be exclusive.

Πρέπει να ήταν γύρω στις 10:30 το βράδυ. Άναψα τα αλάρμ και σταμάτησα το αυτοκίνητο δίπλα στου Μανώλη, πορτ-μπαγκάζ με πορτ-μπαγκάζ. Στα γρήγορα, έβγαλε από το αυτοκίνητό του 4 δοχεία με αλκοόλ υψηλής ποιότητας και μου το έδωσε. Το φόρτωσα κι έφυγα για το σπίτι. Περίπου 20 λίτρα ρακή ξετσαμπουριασμένη, από την καλή, τα 5 κιτρόρακη. Ένα μικρό μέρος θα γίνει ρακόμελο. Η υπόλοιπη θα εμφιαλωθεί σε μπουκάλια του μισού λίτρου, θα ακουμπήσει στο μπουφέ, ύστερα θα έρθουν οι κόρες θα στολίσουν τα μπουκάλια σαν τις νύφες του Βούλγαρη στο καράβι και την Πέμπτη 10/12 θα τα πέψω στο μπαζάρ.

Μια παρόμοια συναλλαγή έγινε και προχτές όταν ο μεγάλος (ο πατέρας μου that is) μου έφερε το λάδι και τα κυδώνια από το Λεμονοδάσος. Πρέπει να σας πω ότι είμαι κάτοχος μια μεγάλης ποσότητας άλλης μια παράνομης ουσίας. Επικίνδυνης όσο και δυσεύρετης και δυσκόλως κουβαλίσιμης. Essenza di senape. Αιθέριο έλαιο σιναπιού. Χημικό όπλο. Δεν νομίζω να μπορεί να χαρακτηριστεί αλλιώς. Δεν τολμώ ούτε να ανοίξω τα μπουκάλια που μας έστειλε η φίλη-της αδελφής-της φίλης-της κυρίας Εύας από το Sarnico. Ή μήπως ήταν η ίδια η αδελφή της φίλης? Αυτή η σπείρα έχει πολλά πλοκάμια. Άντε βρες την άκρη. Αύριο το απόγευμα θα καθαρίσουμε και θα ψιλοκόψουμε τα κυδώνια, θα τα βάλουμε στη ζάχαρη και την Κυριακή θα τα δέσω, θα βάλω το σινάπι (ο αδελφός μου θα μου στείλει προστατευτικά γυαλιά και η Λία θα φέρει μάσκα γιατί μάλλον αυτή που αγόρασα από το φαρμακείο είναι μάπα), θα κονσερβάρω και έτοιμη η mostarda!

Αντιστοίχως στο σπίτι της κυρίας Εύας as we speak στολίζονται τα περίπου 280 βαζάκια με διάφορα καλούδια που έχει φτιάξει και τα περίπου 100 μπουκαλάκια λικέρ. Η Ελένη φτιάχνει πόντσο και εσάρπες, η Έμμη εσάρπες, τσάντες, γλυκά του κουταλιού και δεν ξέρω τι άλλο μα την αλήθεια. Η άλλη Εμμη με τον Μανώλη και τον Σπύρο ασχολούνται με το στήσιμο και τη διακόσμηση του μπαζάρ. Πως θα είναι το μπαρ, πως θα είναι το ταμείο και η συσκευασία, πως θα είναι οι πάγκοι, πως τα ράφια.

Ο Πέτρος? Ο Πέτρος έχει άγχος. Μιλάει με τους καλλιτέχνες και την επιμελήτρια, φοβάται μήπως δεν προλάβουμε τον κατάλογο, ανησυχεί που δεν βρίσκει τον Βασίλη και με παίρνει τηλέφωνο 5 φορές τη μέρα. 26 Εικαστικοί έχουν προσφέρει περίπου 30 έργα για την έκθεσή μας φέτος. Μεγάλη δουλειά, έτσι?!

Στο σπίτι της Ξανθής, εκτός από το στοκ γλυκών, μαρμελάδων και λικέρ, της τελευταίες μέρες διατηρείται και παράνομη βιοτεχνία κατασκευής τσαντών και ποδιών. Τα υφάσματα έχουν έρθει από την μαύρη Αφρική. Νιγηρία, Ζαΐρ? Δεν είμαι σίγουρη. Πρέπει να ρωτήσω την Σοφία τη γραμματέα μας που είναι από κει η μαμά της. Αλλά θα ξέρει και η κυρία Εύα. Όλα τα ξέρει η κυρία Εύα. Ακόμα και το μυστικό για τις τέλειες λιαστές ντομάτες!

Το Σάββατο η ομάδα μαγειρικής των παιδιών θα φτιάξει για το μπαζάρ μαρμελάδα εσπεριδοειδών και τις παραμονές, κουραμπιεδάκια. Διπλάσια ποσότητα φέτος γιατί πέρσυ έγιναν ανάρπαστα!

Αααααααααααααα! Καλέ, έχω και τη μαύρη του Μιχάλη. Τι ποια μαύρη. Τη σοκολάτα φυσικά. Την άφησε στη σχολή χορού και πήγα προχτές και την πήρα. Έχω να φτιάξω και κρέμα σοκολάτας με σουμάδα. Χριστέ μου, πότε θα γίνουν όλα αυτά, πότε , πού και κυρίως από ποιον? Φέτος το μπαζάρ έχει ξεπεράσει κάθε προηγούμενο. Σε μέγεθος, σε επαγγελματισμό, σε πρωτοτυπία, σε εκπλήξεις, σε εθελοντές. Το μόνο που έχει μείνει ίδιο είναι η ποιότητα των πραγμάτων, που είναι σταθερά εξαιρετική και το κέφι μας. Οι ώμοι μας μπορεί να βάρυναν λίγο, και το κεφάλι μας να γυρίζει από την κούραση, αλλά το κέφι μας παραμένει αναλλοίωτο. Ακόμα και της Χριστιάννας που έχει θαφτεί κάτω από τόνους γκλίττερ, κορδελλών και άλλων υλικών χειροτεχνίας και αναζητά απελπισμένα έναν εθελοντή έστω και τώρα να της βάλει ένα χέρι.

Κι ανάμεσα σ’ όλα αυτά, παίρνω κάτι μέηλ συνομωτικά. Κάτι μέηλ που λένε γλυκά λόγια και υπόσχονται μηλοπιτάκια για τους εθελοντές την Παρασκευή που θα στήνουμε. Και στηρίζομαι στα πόδια μου ξαφνικά. Μου βγαίνει μια σταγόνα νερό στην άκρη του ματιού, αποσυμπιέζομαι και σηκώνω την πλάτη. Love is all around me and so the feeling grows.

Καλό μπαζάρ.

Υ.Γ. Θα ήθελα να ανεβάσω από σήμερα την υπέροχη τρυφερή και χαρούμενη πρόσκληση του φετινού μπαζάρ που μας έφτιαξε και φέτος η Λουίζα Κορνάρου. Όμως δεν θα το κάνω.

Γιατί σήμερα θέλω να σας στείλω εδώ να διαβάσετε για ένα άλλο μπαζάρ που γίνεται το Σάββατο 28 Νοεμβρίου στο Cabaret Voltaire στο Μεταξουργείο από τις 12:00 το μεσημέρι έως τις 8:00 το βράδυ, αλλά πλαισιώνεται κι από άλλες εκδηλώσεις που δείτε πιο κάτω. Στόχος του : Η στήριξη των 15 παιδιών έως 3 ετών που ζουν στην φυλακή με τις φυλακισμένες μητέρες τους. Μια δράση που αναμφίβολα, αξίζει τον κόπο. Να πάτε να τους στηρίξετε. Ελπίζω κι εγώ να τα καταφέρω. Καλό μπαζάρ και σε σας παιδιά και καλή σας επιτυχία.

What price would you be willing to pay to feel that you are special? I will tell you a story of one young woman who has paid that price and then some. She is an example of how we sometimes defend our self-image at the cost of our happiness.

The patient of another psychologist, I knew this woman for about 20 years, filling-in for her therapist when he was on vacation. Gloria (not her real name) had a tragic early life. She was victimized by her parents’ verbal and physical abuse and neglect, and became an easy target for schoolmates. Gloria was unlucky, too, in that she was born with slightly less than average intelligence. Making things even worse, her body was naturally graceless and her facial features were less than attractive. But, Gloria could be sweet and socially engaging, willing and able to approach strangers and make conversation despite a long history of rejection.

Even with all her disadvantages and misfortunes, Gloria, now a middle-aged woman, might still be able to have a good and pleasing social life–except for one thing: she believes that she is the world’s unluckiest person, the record-setter for having received the greatest misfortune in the history of the planet. Moreover, she feels compelled to report her tale of woe to those people she begins to get to know, very early in her relationship to them. This has the predictable result–they shy away from her, leaving her feeling rejected once more, and adding to her claim that she has been the most ill-treated human in recorded history. I am not being facetious here; I once asked her to compare herself to various victims of misfortune including those who had been tortured, suffered in natural disasters, lived in concentration camps, or been plagued with disfiguring and painful illnesses. She assured me that her lot in life was far worse than any of them; and, that it was only fair and reasonable to expect people to be sympathetic to her and give her some of the understanding, sympathy, and support she had always been lacking.

Thus, Gloria purses with a vengeance the comfort and affection that she believes she has coming to her. Her sense of entitlement to this, her insistence that her fellow-man should and must provide this, drives people away from her in striving for the love she has never had. Of course, her therapist points out to her the self-defeating nature of this strategy, the need first to establish relationships based on something other than the other person’s  willingness to listen to her sadness and anger. Gloria doesn’t accept this, unfortunately. The world and the rest of the human race owe her this hearing (so it seems to her), the sooner the better, and it is only fair and just to expect them to deliver what she wants.

Gloria is smart enough to understand that people she hardly knows might not have much patience or interest in accepting her premature self-disclosure. And so, you might well ask, why does she continue to do the same thing over and over with the same bad result? Why doesn’t she try something different?

After much consideration of that question, here is the best answer I can provide. First, Gloria is so desperate and needy, so starved for affection, that it is frankly difficult for her to restrain herself from lunging at the thing she desires whenever she first sights it. But, more importantly, I think the one thing that Gloria values above everything in her life is her self-appointed status as The Most Unfortunate Person in World History. Now, you might say that you wouldn’t want to hold that particular title. But, think about it. I suspect that this designation gives Gloria the only form of distinction she could every expect to achieve in life. Without it, she is simply a sad, angry, lonely, unattractive, unaccomplished, anonymous person; but with it, she is something special, someone who stands out from the crowd, a noteworthy individual, one in six billion, the leader in her class. And the self-nourishment she receives from licking the wounds attendant to this awful position in life almost certainly provides her with some amount of solace.

I’m sure Gloria would deny the psychological explanation I’ve just provided for her self-defeating behavior and I cannot promise you that it is accurate. But I would ask you this. Do you know people who persist in self-defeating behavior despite all the advice, therapy, or wise counsel offered by friends, relatives, and therapists? Have you sometimes wondered why they do so? Often the answer isn’t “logical” in that it doesn’t “make sense” intellectually. But, it just might make sense emotionally, as I believe it does for Gloria. If, somewhere deep inside, she doesn’t really believe that she can achieve the life she wants, her behavior suggests that she has found a method, however self-defeating it is, to give herself some of the sense of status and recognition that life hasn’t and probably won’t provide to her.

Gloria was dealt a bad hand in life. Her response to that deal of the cards is instructive. She seems to have chosen a sort of fantasy, a story about herself that compensates her for her misfortune, just as it simultaneously fuels her continued loneliness. But be careful should you wish to dismiss her behavior as “crazy” too quickly. We all do self-defeating things in life.

Before you condemn her, check yourself out in the mirror.

සති කිහිපයකට ඉහත ලේඛකයාගේ දුර ඥාතියෙක් මිය ගියේය. කිලෝමීටරවලින් පමණක් නොව සියළු ආකාරයෙන්ගෙන් කොළඹින් බොහෝ ඈත, දකුණු පළාතේ පිටිසර ගම්මානයක විසූ, ‘අමරසේකර මාමා/සීයා’ ලෙස හඳුන්වනු ලැබූ මේ ඥාතියා ලේඛකයා සමඟ හෝ ඔහුගේ පවුල සමඟ කිට්ටු සම්බන්ධතාවයක් පවත්වා ගත්තකු නොවේ. මේ ඥාතියා දුප්පත්ය. ඔහු තමන්ගේ හා බිරිඳගේ කුස පුරවා ගත්තේ කුලී වැඩ කිරීමෙන් ලද සීමිත ආදායමිනි. එතකුදු වුවත් ඔහු නොවේ අනුන්ට අතපාන්නට කැමති වූයේ, කරදරයකදීවත්. අළුත් අවුරුද්දට හෝ මුදලක් ඔහු අත තබනු හැකිවූයේ පෙරැත්තයකින් පසුය. ලද පමණින් සතුටු වීමට හැකිවීම උත්තම ගුණාංගයක් නම් ඔහු උතුම් මිනිසකු විය.

මේ ඥාතියාගේ අභාවයෙන් පසු එතෙක් කිසිවකු නොසිතූ තත්වයක් උද්ගත වූයේය. ඔහුගේ බිරියගේ යැපීම සඳහා ආදායම් මාර්ගයක් නොමැති බව කාටක් පසක් වූයේ හත්දොහේ දානය දුන්නාට පසුවය. (ඔවුනට දරුවෝ නොවූහ.) ඇය ජීවිතයේ කිසිදිනෙක රැකියාවක්, අඩු තරමේ ස්වයං රැකියාවක් හෝ කර නොතිබුණාය. සැමියාගේ ඉපැයීම් ඇගේ එකම ආදායම් මාර්ගය විය. කුඩා ගෙපැලක් ඉදිකර තිබුණාට අමතරව, ඔහු සතු ඉතිරිකිරීම් කිසිවක් වීය නොසිතමි. (අමාරුවෙන් එදා වේල සරි කර ගන්නා මිනිසුන්ට ඉතිරිකිරීම් සිහිනයක් පමණකි.) වයස අවුරුදු පනස් පහක මේ දිළිඳු නූගත් කාන්තාවට කවර ලෙසකින් නම් දිවි සුරැකීම පිණිස රැකියාවක් සොයා ගත හැක්කේද?

ඇයට හිමි එකම ඉරණම තම ස්වාමි පුරුෂයා අභිමානයෙන් පිළිකෙව් කළ අනුන්ට අතපා ජීවත්වීමේ මාර්ගයට අවතීර්ණ වීම පමණකි. කිසි ලෙසක ‘පොහොසත්’ යන විශේෂණය භාවිතා කොට විස්තර කළ නොහැකි ඇගේ ඥාතීන්ට එය අමතර බරක් වෙයි. දැන් ඔවුන්ට කරන්නට සිදුව ඇති කැපවීම අළුත් අවුරුද්දට දාහේ නෝට්ටුවක් හෝ සීයේ නෝට්ටු කිහිපයක් අතමිට මොළවනවාට කිහිප ගුණයෙකින් වැඩිය. වයස අවුරුදු පනස් පහක මහළු කාන්තාවකට අවශ්‍ය කුසට අහර පමණක් නොවේ. ඇගේ ඖෂධ සඳහාද මාසයකට නියමිත මිලක් වේ. මින් යම් කොටසක් රජයේ රෝහලින් නොමිළේ ලැබුනද ඊට යාමට පවා බස් වියදම් දැරුව මනාය. ඊට අමතරව ඈ ගිලන් වන කල්හි තනි නොතනියට කිසිවකු රඳවා තැබිය යුතු වේ. මේ සියල්ල මූල්‍යමය වටිනාකම් වලට පරිවර්තනය වන්නේය. ඒ දැරිය යුත්තේ ඥාතීන්ය. තමන්ගේද, තම දෙමාපියන්ගේද, තම දරුවන්ගේද, කුස පිරවිය යුතු, ලෙඩට බෙහෙත් ගත යුතු, කප්පරක් අමතර අවශ්‍යතාවලට උරදිය යුතු ඥාතීන්ය. ඒ තමන් දවසේ පැය අටක් දහයක් කඹුරා, ඉන්පසු තවත් පැය දෙක තුනක් බස්රියට දුම්රියට වියදම් කොට දුෂ්කර ක්‍රියා කොට උපයන සොච්චමිනි. ටික කලකට නොව අවම ලෙස තව වසර පහළොවක් විස්සක් ඔවුන් මේ බර ඇදිය යුතු වේ. මෙසේ පැවසීම අනුකම්පාවිරහිත කුරිරුකමකැයි කෙනකුට පෙනී යා හැකිය. එහෙත් ඒ වගකීම දරන්නට සිදු වන්නන්ට එය කිසි ලෙසකින්වත් ප්‍රසන්න කටයුත්තක් නොවේ. ඔවුන් මේ සමාජ කටයුත්ත කළ යුතු වන්නේ තමන්ගේ දහසකුත් එකක් සිහින ඊට යට කරමිනි. සමාජවාදය දේශනාවට වඩා භාවිතය ඉතා අසීරුය.

මේ හුදෙකලා ප්‍රශ්නයකැයි නොසිතමි. අද යම් රැකියාවකින් මුදලක් උපයන හැම කෙනකුටම පාහේ තම ආසන්නතම පවුලට (immediate family) අමතරව තව කටවල් කිහිපයකට ආහාර සොයන්නට සිදුවීම සාමාන්‍ය සිද්ධියකි. සමහරවිට ඒ මහළු දෙමාපියන් විය හැකිය. (රජයේ විශ්‍රාම වැටුපක් කියා එකක් තිබුණාට, අපේ රටේ විශ්‍රාමිකයන්ගෙන් 90%ක්ම ලබන්නේ රුපියල් 3,000ට අඩු මාසික ආදායමකි. මේ නිසා අති බහුතරයක් විශ්‍රාමිකයන්ට අනිවාර්යයෙන් අනුන්ගෙන් යැපීමට සිදුවේ. දරුවන් සෙවනෙහි සිටිය යුතු දෙමාපියන්ගෙන් මහළු නිවාස පිරී යන්නේද එනිසා විය යුතුය.) සමහරවිට ලේඛකයාට මෙන් දුර ඥාතීන්ය. සමහරවිට ආබාධිත දරුවන්, සහෝදරයන්ය. තම ලේ නෑයින්ගේ නැති බැරිකමට පිහිටක් නොවී ස්වාර්ථය සලසා ගත හැක්කේ අප අතුරින් ඉතාම ආත්මාර්ථකාමී සුළු කොටසකට පමණකැය සිතමි.

තනිව නැඟීමට පවා අසීරු කඳු ගැටයක් වන ජීවිතය තවත් කෙනකු උසුළාගෙන කෙලෙස නම් තරණය කළ හැක්කේද?

අපේ පැත්ත සම්පූර්ණයෙන් අමතක කොට යැපෙන්නන්ගේ පැත්තෙන් බැලුවද මේ පිළිගත හැකි තත්ත්වයක් නොවේ. තමන්ගේ බත්පත පිණිස අනුන් මත යැපෙන්නට කැමති කවර මිනිසාද? ගැහැණියද? තමන් “පිං” හැර නැවත යමක් සමාජයට නොදෙන බව දැන දැනම අනුන්ගේ යමක් බලපොරොත්තු වන්නට වීම ඔවුන්ගේ අභිමානයට පහරක් නොවන්නේද, විශේෂයෙන්ම අනුන්ට අතපා ජීවත් වීම අනුනොදක්නා සංස්කෘතියක් තුළ?

අපේ රටේ මේ ගැටළුව තවදුරටත් උග්‍ර වීමට හේතුව දිනෙන් දින වයස්ගතවන ජනගහණයයි. වඩා දියුණු වූ සෞඛ්‍ය සේවාවන්හි පිළිසරණ ලබන ජනතාව දීර්ඝායු ලබති. එහෙත් යම් වයස් මට්ටමකදී, ආර්ථික හා සාමාජීය හේතූන් නිසා ඔවුන් ශ්‍රම බලකායෙන් ඉවත් කරනු ලබති. මෙහි නොවැලැක්විය හැකි ප්‍රතිඵලය රටේ වැඩකරන්නන්ට සාපේක්ෂව නොකරන්නගේ (යැපෙන්නන්ගේ) ප්‍රතිශතය ඉහළ යාමය. අඩු වයස නිසා ශ්‍රම බලකායට ඇතුළු කරගත් නොහෙන ළමුන්ද, ආර්ථික වශයෙන් සඵලදායී නොවන ශිෂ්‍යයන්ද ඊට එක්වූ විට යැපෙන්නන්ගේ ප්‍රතිශතය තවත් ඉහළ යයි. (වෙන රටවල මෙන් පාර්ට් ටයිම් ජොබ්ස්, සමර් ජොබ්ස් කර ආදායමක් උපයා ගන්නා සිරිතක් නැති අපේ රටේ බොහොමයක් තුන්වන වසර හතරවන වසර සරසවි ශිෂ්‍යයන්ගේ පවා බරපැණ දරන්නේ දිළිඳු දෙමාපියන්ය. ඔවුහුද කිසිම ලජ්ජාවකින් තොරව තම දෙමාපියන් දවස තිස්සේ කඹුරා උපයන මුදල තම පැවැත්මට පමණක් නොව පෙම්වතියට සුවඳ විලවුන් මිලට ගැනීමටද වැය කරති.)

මාක්ස්වාදියකු ලෙස හිතන පතන සමයේ ලේඛකයාට මේ සියල්ල ධනේශ්වර ක්‍රමයේ වැරදි ලෙස සිතා ලෙහෙසියෙන්ම හිත හදා ගැනීමට පුළුවන්කම තිබුණේය. ලෝකයේ සියළු ප්‍රශ්න ඇතිවන්නේ ධනපති ක්‍රමය විසින් පීඩිතයන් සූරාකන නිසාය යන්න ප්‍රායෝගික නොවුනද අතිශයින් සුන්දර සිතිවිල්ලකි. දුකට මුල පෙර භවයන්හි කළ කර්මය යැයි බෞද්ධයන්ගේ කල්පනාවට සමාන සොඳුරු සිතිවිල්ලකි ඒ. එයින් මේ සියල්ලන්ගෙන් අපට අත සෝදාගෙන ඉවත් වීමට හැකිවෙයි. ධනපති ක්‍රමය අපේ නිර්මාණයක් නොවන නිසාය. කවදාවත් ඇති නොවන බව දන්නා විප්ලවයක් මාර්ගයෙන් මේ සියළු ප්‍රශ්න දූරිභූත වේයැයි අප පැරැන්නන් දියසේන කුමාරයා ගැන තැබූ විශ්වාසයෙන්ම විශ්වාස කරන්නෝද වෙති. ලේඛකයාට ඇති ගැටළුව තව දුරටත් එවැනි රෝමෑන්තික සුරංගනා ලෝකයක ජීවත් වීමට ඇති නොහැකියාවය.

යැපෙන්නන්ගේ ගැටළුවට මුල (ඕනෑම අර්ථ ක්‍රමයකට පොදු) සූරාකෑම නොවේ. සූරාකෑම (exploitation) ගැන ගැටළුවක් මතුකළ හැක්කේ පවා මේ පිරිස ආර්ථික ක්‍රියාවලියෙහි කොටසක් නම්ය. එහෙත් මේ කිසිවෙක් ආර්ථික ක්‍රියාවලියෙහි කොටස්කරුවෝ නොවෙති. ඔවුන් විසින් කරනු ලබන කිසිම නිෂ්පාදනයක් නැත. ඔවුන් සමාජයට බරක් වන්නේද එනිසාය. මොන තරම් යහපත් ලෙස ආදායම් බෙදීයන අර්ථක්‍රමයක් නිර්මාණය කළද මොවුන්ට අනුන්ට බරක් වීමට සිදුවේ. බෙදී යනු ඇත්තේ අනුන් උපයන ආදායම්ය. න්‍යායාත්මක පූර්ණ කොමියුනිස්ට් ක්‍රමයක් තුළදී ඔවුන්ගේ බර ඥාතීන්ට නොව සමස්ත සමාජයට ඉසිළීමට සිදුවනු ඇත. එය කිසිසේත් ගැටළුවට විසඳුමක් නොවේ. චීනයේ සිදුවන්නට ඇත්තේ මෙයයැයි සිතමි. ග්‍රාමීය චීනය තවමත් අපටද වඩා දුප්පත් එනිසාය. තමන් රැකියාවක් නොකොට අනුන්ගේ යැපෙන්නන් විශාල ප්‍රතිශතයක් ඉන්නා ප්‍රජාවන්, කවර අර්ථ ක්‍රමයක් යටතේ වුව සඵලදායී (productive) නොවේ.

යැපෙන්නන් විසින් ඔවුනට පමණක් නොව සමස්ත සමාජයටම ඇති කරනු ලබන ගැටළුවට ලේඛකයා දකින්නේ එකම විසඳුමක් පමණකි. ඒ ඔවුන්ගෙන් කොටසක් වත්, පාර්ශ්විකව හෝ නිෂ්පාදන කාර්යයට දායක කර ගැනීමය. මෙය වසර හැට ඉක්මවූ කාන්තාවන් ගාමන්ට් ෆැක්ටරියක සේවයට යැවීමට අනුබල දීමක් සේ වරදවා තේරුම් නොගත යුතුය. එහෙත් ‘ආකාස කුසුම්’ හි සන්ධ්‍යා රාණි පැටිස් තනා වෙළඳපළට නිකුත් කර දිවි සරි කරගන්නවාක් සේ යැපෙන්නන්ද ආදායම් මාර්ග විවෘත කර ගැනීමට උත්සුක විය යුතුය. මේවා අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම කය වෙහෙසා කරන රැකියා විය යුතු නොවේ. දියුණු අර්ථක්‍රමයන්හි කය නොවෙහෙසා වුව, ආබාධිතයකුට වුව කළ හැකි රැකියා අවස්ථා වේ. රජයෙන් ඔවුන්ට ඒ සඳහා පහසුකම් ලැබෙන ආකාරයේ ප්‍රතිපත්ති සම්පාදනය විය යුතුය. එසේ නොවන්නේ නම් යැපෙන්නන් සමාජයට පමණක් නොව ඔවුනටද බරක් වීම නොවැළැක්විය හැක්කේය.

I had typed up a long post but it got lost… Ironically, losing all that time and effort goes right into the point that I was going to try to make. So I will start back at the beginning and try again.

When I created this blog, my goal was to get out of that tunnel-vision. I wanted to see at least one new thing about the world around me each day. Even if it meant lifting my eyes from my own life. Even if it meant really looking for something new when everything seems the same old thing. I feel like I have failed miserably in that goal, and I want to try harder to see something new in every day. Today something happened that reminded me of that old goal.

Sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives that we forget there are people facing their own challenges around us. It’s not that we are trying to be rude. We just get, as someone I know once put it, tunnel-vision. We go through our lives, our days, with thoughts about what we need to do or what we just did and don’t notice everyone around us, who are usually doing the same thing.

Today after my classes, my mother and I went to a store to pick up a few things. On the way out, I noticed a stand of Disney movies and glanced over it. When I saw Pixar’s Up, a new release, on the stand, I let out a squeal of excitement and darted over. I lifted it up and showed it to her before we left the store. She remarked that whenever she enters a store, she gets tunnel-vision – she goes it, picks up the items on her list, and leaves. She does not see the shelves of items carefully placed by people who watch out people shop. There’s a reason why the magazines and candies are near the cash register. They are easy grab items. The store owners want you to buy them. If you are like my mother, you save a lot of money by not grabbing these things; you also, however, miss seeing that the latest Pixar is out.

We get tunnel-vision a lot, all of us. We get so wrapped up in our own problems and challenges that we forget we are not the only ones facing problems and challenges. Sometimes we think, when someone reveals a problem, that their problem isn’t really a problem at all. What we forget is that the significance of a challenge varies depending on who is looking at it. To you, the fact that I lost the original version of this post may seem not that big a deal, but that was twenty minutes of my life that are now gone, and more than a few words that I will now lose forever. I do not have a photographic memory. All I know is that some things that were said are now lost, and also that new things are being said that were not there before. It was disappointing, but I realize that it’s just a shrug of your shoulders to you. But look at the challenges you are facing right at this very moment. Maybe the internet’s not working as fast as it could. Mine is working fine. Does that mean that I should say that your problem is insignificant, because I’m not going through the same problem? No way. It’s a challenge for you.

There are bigger challenges people face, of course. Professors hounding beliefs or problems with friends, coworkers, employers, and on and on. Maybe you recently lost someone important to you. However, while I am caught in my own life, walking in my circles that may or may not cross over into yours in places, you are caught up in yours, walking your circles that may or may not cross over into mine. I am facing challenges that have some significance to me when they may seem silly to another. Maybe my challenges are really significant. But since we each live our own lives, often with that tunnel-vision, we don’t see one another’s challenges clearly.

Today I was laughing and joking with my mom on the way home. We passed by a cemetery. Normally I give that same cemetery only a passing glance; we’ve driven by it on the way home countless times. Today, however, was different. This is what I saw, when I looked out of my own life for just a moment and into someone else’s.

I saw a young man crouched before a grave. His head was bowed low. His shoulders were hunched over and shaking as he wept into his hands. He was all alone. There was no one else in the cemetery; he was all alone, suffering the pain of losing one close to him, while the chill breezes of winter fingered across him. He must have been cold, but in that moment, I don’t think he cared. His entire world in that moment was the grief that he felt, a grief that never really eases entirely away.

I do not know who he was or whose grave he wept over. The paths he walks do not cross into mine; his troubles could be worlds apart from mine. But in that moment, unknown to him, I felt a wave of sympathy cross through my heart. If for only an instant, we were connected.

While I am living my life with my own challenges to face, there are others out there doing the same. Oftentimes we fail to look up, to step out of our own lives for a moment and see the world through someone else’s eyes. There are lives out there that I know nothing about; challenges that people are facing that I could never dream. There are things that I do not see.

That is what I learned today.

When you read the obituary columns 70% of the announcements carry the above notice, or it will say family flowers only donations to, and the charity is then mentioned.

This is and has been a pet hate of mine for many years, I know from my own experiences from family members lost, people are more than happy to both donate to the charity and want to send flowers.

Because it is a sensitive time the majority are guided by what the announcement says and will not take it any further but often they are offended that they have not been allowed to send the only tangible tribute to their relation, dear friend etc.

What the public don’t realise is that for every pound that is donated a good 70% is swallowed up in administration expenses or salary if you want to put it another way. This makes me sound like I begrudge money going to a charitable cause – nothing can be further from the truth and as a Florist I can hear the comments “oh its because he is loosing business“. Well yes, that is correct. It’s something to do with the mindset of this country because wherever you go in the Christian world flowers are the final expression of love and respect and are sent in abundance.

There is some misconceived expression which you hear all too often in this country, “it’s a waste of money, they only lie there and die“. Most of those that say this are spending £5 a day on cigarettes, which go up in smoke, lead to cancer and whatever, and kill you!
It makes one really think about that outward expression of grief when Princess Diana died, masses upon masses of flowers of all types of design piled on top of each other and left to rot not just in London but all the major cities in the UK had their own shrines! Left by people who make the above comments.

What should be put into these announcements should be flowers and or donations are perfectly acceptable. Most of the time this is down to the immediate family of the deceased imposing their own will on the proceedings. Of course there are the occasions where the deceased has made a request or mentioned it at sometime that they would rather people would send money to their chosen good cause and then that has to be respected but most of the time it is at the whim or will of the member of the family organising the funeral.

One can only say that it is a very pitiful sight to see a funeral in full procession with the coffin bare.

Flowers say and express things sometimes words fail to. Sympathy flowers are that final expression, that final emotion which should not be denied.

OK – this is a suggestion I’m all for. Wouldn’t the world be a so much better place with no terrorism? Certainly – now what can I do. I can be ‘alert, but not alarmed,’ as the Australian television add of a couple of years ago told me. But what more? Can terrorism be eliminated?

I doubt terrorism will ever be completely eliminated – but it would be great if it could be. We can certainly reduce it greatly and that too would be good.

The suggestion in the book ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton is a little disappointing here. Sure, I don’t agree with torture and unlawful detention, etc. However, the suggestion is a little too ‘polite’ toward terrorists for my liking. I have no time for terrorists and they need to be rooted out and, well, they will probably get hurt during the process – I don’t have a lot of sympathy for them I must admit.

The suggestion is for combating terrorism without the erosion of human rights while doing so. As I said – I don’t want to see human rights eroded. I also don’t want to see terrorists given soft treatment – they chose to forego that when they became terrorists in my book.

Someone we truly love and care about suddenly passes away. We feel so helpless and become unsure of how to make ourselves supportive to the other bereaved members. The trickiest emotion to express in words is showing sympathy or sorrow. As it is a time of intense sadness and misery, it can be difficult to decide – what to say or do? There are times when you want to sympathize with someone, but fail because of lack of the right words. However, a flower becomes the right medium for expressing your sympathy without even having to speak much.

Who can better understand the shortness of life other than flowers? Therefore, flowers become the symbol of our fragile lives and are perfect for expressing the need for moving on. Their sensitivity and frailty give us strength to deal with grief. However, all kinds of flowers are not suitable for all occasions.

Flower arrangements for condolences are different from usual bouquets. Flowers need to be arranged in such a manner so that they signify and express affection, care, kindness, and support. They should be comforting and consoling. The colors and flowers chosen for condolence flower arrangements are soothing as well as bright, which radiate hope to the bereaved members.

Flowers of sympathy can be ordered for various occasions, such as at calling hours, funerals, and graveyard burials. Memory Rings are also designed to deliver for funerals, and times of sorrow and pain. These are made of flowers, leaves, and ferns, and are arranged in a circular shape to symbolize eternal life after death. White or pale colored Roses and lilies are the most commonly used flowers for such times. Also, some flowers, such as white carnations, gladiolas, white daisies, and ferns are used. Soft twigs are also used in arrangements rarely.

It is better to send sympathy flowers to the family if you are unable to attend the funeral, as it will show your support in the times of grief. Fresh Flower India offers a collection of sympathy flower arrangements and funeral flowers expressing pure sentiments. For ordering your flower arrangement, log on to www.FreshFlowerIndia.com

Hi everyone, sadly one of hubby’s work colleagues lost her Dad this week and I was asked to make a card for the staff to sign, so this is it. I used the new butterfly punch and the butterfly stamps from the new summer mini, this time I used the ‘houndstooth’ print on the top of the butterfly and I glued the ’swirly’ print underneath so when it’s wings are lifted there is some unexpected added interest…cute idea hey? The large red/pink rose from Fifth Avenue Floral has been coloured with a blend of reds and pinks from the Water Colour Wonder Crayons, I have actually coloured in 2 of them and layered them on top of each other with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Just around the edges I have used some Stampin’ Glitter in Dazzling Diamonds. The tag has been made up of 2 different stamp sets (which I love to do and it’s so easy!!), the secret is you must have a Stamp-a-ma-jig (available for $22.95 from the 2009-2010 idea book and catalogue, page155)!! It allows you to line up perfectly where you need to place the stamp, no stuff-ups, no errors, you get it right every time, isn’t that cool? I love mine and it gets a very good workout with the projects its needed in. I had always wondered how these people, who have gorgeous jaw dropping creations, made such awesome perfect alignments look so easy, I assumed that they must have wasted a lot of paper and time and I admired them for their determination to finish what they started out making!!! But at the very first Stampin’ Up party I went too their secret was out!!!! I think everyone at that party thought the same as me, and yes! … every one of us purchased that magic tool and now we too can align perfectly!!!! Ahh yes, back to the card,( ooops, those who know me well, know how I like to side-track at times.. lol lol lol) I have used the ‘heartfelt’ stamp from Heartfelt Thanks and the ‘with sympathy’ is from Kindred Spirits. I had to make this a large card for the many signatures so I used a 12×12 textured sheet of Baja Breeze, folded it in half and cut one side down by 7 cms. I used Urban Oasis designer series paper and chose the theme of Fifth Avenue Floral, the red spotty piece is from Riding Hood Red patterns designer series paper. The ribbon is the luscious satin Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla. I was pretty happy with the final result of this card and I was pleased to hear that hubby’s work mates also liked it and were very appreciative, its nice to know your work touches the hearts of others no matter what the circumstance.

 Thanks for dropping by this arve.

Sally x

Draft article: DraftHumeSympathy20091116Agosta 

There is a long history in British empiricist philosophy that engages “sympathy.” There are at least four meanings of “sympathy” in the writings of David Hume, dating to his a Treatise on Human Nature (1739). In today’s post I want to qualify the statement that “sympathy” in Hume means what today we call “empathy.” In selected quotations where Hume conjoins the sympathetic communications of sentiments with the idea of an other individual, “sympathy” means “empathy.” In particular, “delicate sympathy” would capture those features of fine-grained distinction that are characteristic of empathy, but the possibility remains undeveloped by Hume. In the development of Hume’s philosophical activity, “delicacy of sympathy” is swallowed up conceptually by “delicacy of taste.” In subsequent passages (and here is the qualification), “sympathy” means “the power of suggestion” or “emotional contagion” (see above “contagious”; T 3.3.3.5; SBN 604-5). These different, over-lapping, not entirely consistent uses of “sympathy” exist side-by-side in the Treatise (1739) as demonstrated by the textual evidence cited in the attachment. Furthermore, “sympathy” is not a static concept in Hume; but undergoes a dynamic development. By the time of the Enquiry (1751), the push down of “sympathy” behind compassion and taste is complete. “Sympathy” migrates in the direction of compassion as it takes on the content of qualities useful to mankind as benevolence, leaving taste to dominate the field of fine-grained distinctions in the communicability of feelings between persons (“friends”) as well as in the appreciation of beauty.  This former point is essential. Taste gives us an enjoyment of the qualities of the characters of persons in conversation, humor, and friendship that is a super-set of what empathy does with its fine-grained distinctions in accessing the experiences of other persons. The prospect of “delicacy of sympathy” in the social realm of human interrelations is left without further development by Hume. Instead, Hume presents taste as the capacity to discriminate “particular feelings,” which are produced by beauty and deformity. [1] This special capacity to feel is dependent on the ability of our sensory organs to perceive the fine details of a composition. A detailed engagement with these distinctions is attached above.  Please give me the benefit of your comments, feedback, criticisms, impertinent remarks – you get the idea. All signed, authenticated contributions given full credit in the footnotes if this rough draft is ever formally published.

As noted, Hume has at least four distinct meanings of “sympathy” that he uses opportunistically. First, “sympathy” functions in the communicability of affect; next it encompasses what is often described as “emotional contagion,” the communicability of affect without the inclusion of the idea of the other individual as its source; thirdly, it encompasses the power of suggestion; and, finally, it comes to include an element of benevolence, approaching the meaning of “compassion” that we hear in it today. How this series of transformations unfolds is the topic of this story as the meaning of “sympathy” evolves from a communicability of affect to the (re)active sentiment of compassion with which we regard it today. The crucial difference between sympathy in the strict sense and emotional contagion is delimited in terms of a double representation. The opportunity for Hume was to develop the parallel between a “delicacy of taste” and a “delicacy of sympathy,” the latter capturing what we moderns mean by “empathy.” This opportunity is lost, however, and the “delicate” aspects of sympathy end up being gathered together with “delicacy of taste” and buried over in the discussion of aesthetics rather than as a free standing topic in (moral) psychology.

G’day Everyone!

Well we are still having that heat wave and it is 44 here today. I am sure somewhere the bitumen on the roads is melting and no doubt railway lines somewhere, as it is just soooo hot outside.

I am in my room sorting through the Christmas cards I have been making & writing out the ones I will be sending to the UK (waving to all the family).

This card was for the Elite Challenges colour challenge (There’s Always Chocolate) for this month. And I have to say I have never made a sympathy card before so I am not sure I would give this to anyone being a first attempt. What do you think?

Yes it was a challenge, I have to say it was one of the hardest cards I have made. 

Stamp Set – Thoughts & Prayers

Ink – Chocolate Chip & Riding Hood Red

Card – Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Choci\olate Chip & Natural Ivory

Accessories – Scallop Edge punch, Scallop Square punch, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer, Corner Rounder, Snail & Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Debz