Thursday, November 13, 2008

Compassion

Like all of you out there, I get lots, and lots of e-mails that are forwarded by friends and family. For the most part they are often jokes and silly little things.

Normally I look at them, laugh, and either send them to someone I know will like it or just delete it.

However, once in a while one lands in the in-box that makes you stop and think.

When one of these lands in my in-box I will usually pass it along to a few people I think share the same views or have the same interest.

Then, once in a while, a rare one lands in your in-box that touches the soul.

My wife's uncle sent me one of those today.

Typically I'm not the kind of guy that is labeled a big softy. In fact I can be rather rude, crude, brash, and other wise socially unacceptable.

When it comes to animals though - I am a big softy. I don't care who knows.

Yes, I hurt when one of my pets hurt, I cry when one dies, I get bummed out when I see a dead animal in the road or on the shoulder. I even stop to remove turtles from the road.

When I received this e-mail it really pulled at my strings me. I thought about sending it to some people, which I did, but I thought that it would be best to share with everyone else out there.

It teaches a powerful lesson about compassion and in today's world we all need as much compassion as we can get.

This series of photos is telling the suffering of a poor bird shocked with his partner's fatal injury.


Here his mate is injured and the condition is fatal.



Here he brought her food and attended to her with love and compassion.



He brought her food but shocked to find her dead. He tried to move her.



Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again, he cried with adoring love.



He stood beside her, saddened of her death.


And some people think animals don't have a brain or feelings.


I wonder what happened to this little guy.....

It is said that the photographer sold these pictures for a nominal fee to the most famous newspaper in France. All copies of that newspaper were sold out on the day these pictures were published.

Compassion...this is something we all need to remember and share.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

7 comments:

Anna said...

Larry - thanks for sharing this!

The pictures are really moving and I completely agree with your words!

Best,
Anna

Anonymous said...

That's a good (touching) story.

Sandy said...

Oh Larry... how sad. I, like Anna, agree with you.

Jen said...

Aww.....
I have watched bird parents work so hard in feeding their babies. But never this... It reminds me of the elephants that will visit their family member's bones.

Compassion. More of it is needed.

Jennifer said...

Thanks for sharing... it made me tear up!

Nathan said...

So sad! Swallows are my favorite birds; I even have two of them flying together tattooed on my side. Thanks for sharing the photos!

Jenni- that's really interesting about the elephants. I've never heard that before!

Larry said...

Hey Everyone -

As Jenni mentioned about the elephants - yup, she is spot on about it. There are elephant burial grounds. The elephants go to visit them and to die. Hunters started tracking elephants to find these bone yards so they could steal the ivory and other specialty bones. Today, AFAIK, they are protected by most laws/treaties.