Links to Worthwhile Causes
"Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.” Frederick Buechner
I would like to think that we could apply that sense of compassion to the animal kingdom as well as to the human community. Said in another way, as Thomas Merton did so well in the quote below... “The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.” Thomas Merton
We are all a small part of something bigger than ourselves... It has been said and offered for thought as far back as the Greek philosopher/mathematician Pythagorus, himself a vegetarian, that "As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other." Those are powerful words! They make sense. And yet, to a large degree they leave a feeling of void, almost one of helplessness in light of mankind's ever-increasing appetite for meat and for the skins and fur of other living beings. As with "Green Living", neither you nor I will put a stop to it. Neither you nor I will make a huge difference. But perhaps you and I can do something to help. And as we have said before, something, no matter how small, is better than nothing at all. The links below are to causes and organizations that we at NJR believe are worthy of your support. Take a tour of them and then decide for yourself. Perhaps you will be moved to take some small action. If so, we thank you. If not, we at least have made you more aware...
Having said what we said above, I realized that there is so much more that we can and should do. I also learned early on that people appreciate a "hand up" more than they appreciate a "hand out". Some time ago I came across an organization whose mission it is to do just that...help people by providing them the means to help themselves. I never did anything about it but it stayed in the back of my mind. This evening, for whatever reason, it came back to me. I decided to act on it this time. What I did was not much. The sum was not a great amount. But it was something. If your sense of compassion leads you in the direction of helping others less fortunate, then please consider Kiva. It is a truly unique opportunity to make a diiference. I will post a portion of their mission here. If you are moved to do so, please visit their site by clicking the banner. Thank you. Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need. Farm Sanctuary - rescue . education . advocacy Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine The Humane Farming Association The Humane Society of the United States Return from Links to the Home Page"
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