“I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest
significance.” by: Pablo Casals
I think a lot about caring these days, wondering are there better ways of discovering what care itself is all about and how to recognize and appreciate its significance.
As boys, my brother Jack and I were eager to be as helpful as we could at home by taking on little jobs, delivering grocery orders, shoveling snow in winter and caddying in warmer days. We cared about our family and how our parents worked so hard to provide for five active boys.
Our summers took Jack and me to New Hampshire for two months as caddies in a golf resort. Life seemed easier for me than for Jack. I was more fun loving and easy going and Jack more serious and at times grumpy. I was called “All smiles;” Jack was, “No Smiles.” But he ironed clothes better than I and looked so much neater at Church on Sundays.
Once evening at dusk as we walked a quiet road together with creaky crickets the only sound, I think I must have been feeling homesick or just lonely because I said, “I hope I die before Mom dies; I couldn’t stand to think of her dead.” Without hesitation Jack said, “I hope she dies before I do.” Aghast at such hardness I was ready to smack him on the arm but he continued, “I hope she dies before I do because I would hate to see her mourning for me.”
An early lesson that Care is truly thinking of the other.
Through this experience I came to know care as thinking of others and not of self, of not getting locked up in my own concerns, issues and perceptions but rather being freed to see others as they truly are. I came to know a bit more about what keeps me from being more caring than I am.
As I think back on those early years I remember now why I was thinking about Mom and why I was feeling so lonely. Mom was due to give birth and I knew instinctively that this was not an easy time for her. Each day became longer for me and the homesickness turned into my crying, not just a bit, but all day. Finally the caddy master was so concerned he told Jack that I should go home.
We had about another two weeks before the season would end at Labor Day when we would collect our savings and go home. Jack had several positions as a senior caddy and also worked on the Pro Shop and was saving up for his first year in high school so being at Camp was important to him. But not wanting me to travel home by myself he packed our big army duffle bags and said, “Let’s go home.”
Jack’s caring then remains so significant for me to this day and when I think of caring I think of him and I realize that every act of caring, no matter how big or small, has such meaning for another. “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
significance.” by: Pablo Casals
I think a lot about caring these days, wondering are there better ways of discovering what care itself is all about and how to recognize and appreciate its significance.
As boys, my brother Jack and I were eager to be as helpful as we could at home by taking on little jobs, delivering grocery orders, shoveling snow in winter and caddying in warmer days. We cared about our family and how our parents worked so hard to provide for five active boys.
Our summers took Jack and me to New Hampshire for two months as caddies in a golf resort. Life seemed easier for me than for Jack. I was more fun loving and easy going and Jack more serious and at times grumpy. I was called “All smiles;” Jack was, “No Smiles.” But he ironed clothes better than I and looked so much neater at Church on Sundays.
Once evening at dusk as we walked a quiet road together with creaky crickets the only sound, I think I must have been feeling homesick or just lonely because I said, “I hope I die before Mom dies; I couldn’t stand to think of her dead.” Without hesitation Jack said, “I hope she dies before I do.” Aghast at such hardness I was ready to smack him on the arm but he continued, “I hope she dies before I do because I would hate to see her mourning for me.”
An early lesson that Care is truly thinking of the other.
Through this experience I came to know care as thinking of others and not of self, of not getting locked up in my own concerns, issues and perceptions but rather being freed to see others as they truly are. I came to know a bit more about what keeps me from being more caring than I am.
As I think back on those early years I remember now why I was thinking about Mom and why I was feeling so lonely. Mom was due to give birth and I knew instinctively that this was not an easy time for her. Each day became longer for me and the homesickness turned into my crying, not just a bit, but all day. Finally the caddy master was so concerned he told Jack that I should go home.
We had about another two weeks before the season would end at Labor Day when we would collect our savings and go home. Jack had several positions as a senior caddy and also worked on the Pro Shop and was saving up for his first year in high school so being at Camp was important to him. But not wanting me to travel home by myself he packed our big army duffle bags and said, “Let’s go home.”
Jack’s caring then remains so significant for me to this day and when I think of caring I think of him and I realize that every act of caring, no matter how big or small, has such meaning for another. “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
