Occasionally I have the urge to post nothing but complaints on my blog. I guess this is a natural urge that most people have and I am no exception. In fact my first blog was nothing but bitching and complaining just about everything in my life. Needless to say my blog postings were not well received. I felt better because I was venting, letting steam off. What little feedback I did receive on those blog postings was always negative. It really wasn't a feel good blog. And I have to admit that with all my bitching, I really didn't feel any better.
So I took a break from blogging for about year. Then when I got back into blogging in 2005 I only did one post that year and that was about putting my house in Pennsylvania up for sale. I managed to hit head first right into the Great Housing Crisis and was so consumed with just trying to survive and not fall into a financial abyss that I didn't post anything else that year.
When I finally got back into blogging big time in 2007 at the urging of my non-blogging friend Bob C., my aim was to keep my blog posts positive and keep the bitching to a minimum (I wouldn't be me if I didn't bitch).
With my aching back (which is better by the way) for the past few days I've been having that urge to post a blog of my whole litany of complaints. But I held off. I'm glad I did because someone (who I don't know) sent me this story today by e-mail. This is just the type of story that I'm glad to end the week on. It is a story of human kindness, grace and inspiration towards one of our fellow creatures here on this planet that we all share. I love this kind of story and I hope you do too:
The Whale... If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate ) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.
When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them.
Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who
will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.
I pass this on to you, in the same spirit.
It's a good life
