#1000Speak for Charleston, Ferguson and Paris...

The theme for this month’s #1000Speak for Compassion post is simply that “compassion”.  I feel like it should be a simple thing.  Compassion. It should be something that we all inherently have as a part of us when we’re born. Something that we feel towards others.  That we don’t have to nurture.  That just exists.

The sad truth is – the world doesn’t work that way. Compassion isn’t automatic.  Although we’re all human, we don’t all have empathy towards our fellow humans. The news, the internet, even just going for a walk outside – you can see people everywhere who seem to lack empathy for others.

That Day, The Sneetches Forgot About Stars - #YesAllSneetches

I am a 5'8" 155 lb 38 year old woman.  I've had three children.  I have scars, both from the C-Sections that brought my children into the world and from numerous surgeries from my car accident.  I have stretch marks.  I have lived.  My body has enjoyed carrying three children.  I proudly wear the stretch marks that they gave me.  My body has been cut open to bring them into the world.  I celebrate the scar.

A car accident has resulted in several repairs to my leg - scars on my thigh, my knee and my ankle.  A leg that carries me through life.  A leg that helped me to carry my three children while they were growing inside me.  And a leg that supports me when I lift them for hugs.