The dictionary defines “Sensibility” as ‘the capacity to feel.’ We can — if we are aware — observe that our society is largely bereft of “feeling,” these days. More and more people are concerned about money and power… not about others, not about curtailing suffering. Of course, there are some people who care, but society (as a whole) is generally headed in a disorderly direction. In regular public schools, they mostly focus on teaching you the 3 Rs. They do not, unfortunately, encourage students to probe deeply into such things as awareness, compassion, deep perception, self-understanding, mindfulness, wholeness, and transcending limitation. Public schools generally do not want students who would question society’s superficial values and norms. Public schools are generally designed to crank out followers and “robotic sameness.” This is why i’ve consistently donated to decent alternative schools such as the Brockwood Park School.
If you are (or were) educated in a run-of-the-mill public school, you will have to re-educate yourself. You will have to step out of the box. But you can’t easily step out of the box if your conditioning and brain are the box. Profound compassion requires going beyond superficial mental distance and numbing perceived space. Profound compassion is a real art (in a world full of sameness and secondhand imitation).
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Beauriful picture Tom, magical capture!
Many thanks, Marcela! 😊
well – beyond saying we are exactly on the same page – empathy compassion, even simple courtesy seems too much of an effort for most…. gosh i wish you were here to photograph these butterflies… this is a freak year and oh boy am I taking advantage by paying close attention – fantastic photos usual – who is the long bug? presumably these pictures are being published elsewhere – you are SO INCREDIBLY GIFTED
Yes, people seem to be getting more rude and uncaring these days.
I wish that i had butterflies in my area like you do. Roundup is killing them all here.
We still must try to do better with the environment, even though our nefarious so-called supreme court does not. 😉
Roundup is another form of cultural insanity – what’s left to do Tom but witness???
Other than mostly buying organic foods, there is little that can actually be done regarding Roundup. When i lived in Kansas, we had a program to teach farmers how to get rid of insects without depending on pesticides (and it was minimally successful in terms of changing minds).
Yes, compassion above all! The video was interesting and the pic, beautiful! Somehow the caption sweetens it further.
Good to hear, Harini! Much appreciated! 😁
Great post Tom – dragonfly pic is amazing! Some of my favorite insects (love them all – it’s not easy to be an insect these days) your thoughts about our education system resonated with me. God bless you.
Yes, our educational system. Kind of makes me want to give kids who just recently graduated a condolence card rather than a congratulatory card. 😉
Tom, this is spot on. 👍🏼 I attended public schools, but of course, they were different back then. Teachers knew who you were, where you lived, who your parents, grandparents, and third-cousins once removed were. I think they even knew my dog’s name. 🐕 They cared and pushed us. Compared to today, I am soooooo grateful for that. 🙏🏼
But nowadays the public school environment is clearly and sadly different. I think about a conveyor belt when I look at how unequipped students are. They are missing some functioning parts. In some instances, they walk around like little robots who know everything leading to emptiness. Now, while not all students fall into this abyss of turning up their nose to critical life lessons, there are far too many who have. This has been going on for years now and sadly our educational prominence has been dummied down, and it seems we are too far gone. But let’s not get depressed right now. 🤨 I concur with your message. It’s ongoing and fighting an uphill battle that seems like everyone is fine with not rocking the boat of this conditioning. Be well my friend. 🤗💖🥰
I attended St. Andrew’s Grade School in Calumet City, Kym. It’s the school that the Blues Brothers’ movie was based on. The nuns were eccentric and off of their rockers and, yes, they did beat us with yardsticks. 🤕
What? No, not the yardsticks? 📏📏📏 I think the nuns needed a man…bottled up sexual frustration Tom! 😝 Conditioning has morphed into deadly poison! Just keep your eyes open and stay focused my friend. 😎👀😜
Yes, you may indeed be right, Kym… bottled up sexual frustration. I remember one little, petite girl had a ring on her finger with fuzz on it — meaning she was going steady with someone — and the nun did not like it; she kept beating that poor, little girl’s hand with a ruler. It was ugly and violent to witness! 🙄
One’s conditioning IS a box … one’s inclination to bust out of that box is not a given … many seem comfortable conforming to whatever “school” they’re familiar with. I wonder if the human personality dynamic is evolving/devolving generation by generation – each generation reflecting different stresses from the environment to politics to digital-vs-personal communications. Not sure if I really want to know where this all leads …
Stunning image!
Thank you, Jazz! 😉 If we do not change, it leads to a world without any humans where the ants become more sophisticated, dominant, and orderly.
You captured that insect, (a dragonfly or damselfly perhaps), looking particularly radiant on that green plant – in fact it seems to glow in the dark. This looks like an excellent school to learn more than just the three Rs. Being “book smart” as opposed to heart smart, as in having empathy, having a soul, doesn’t do anyone any favors. Kids are churned out of school these days with school being a babysitter during the daytime hours and merely an opportunity to win popularity contests i.e. who can have the most fellow-student followers on social media. They know nothing else … but sadly they don’t care to learn either. Sure, there will always be the rare exceptions to that statement, but that also depends on how they were raised.
Yes, Linda, — you are right — public schools are mainly babysitting facilities these days. Scary what the end results are!
When kids graduate, we should give them condolence cards, not congratulatory cards. 😐
Yes, it’s quite a scary world out there. (And getting scarier by the day.)
I am reading Tim Tebow’s latest book called Mission Possible. I was literally just asking myself that question last night to God; Lord am I imagining this or are we seriously unaware of others and have no compassion towards others? His book challenges us to live a life on a mission for God’s and others. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, live a life to help so-called others (who are really yourself). But not for a god or gods. Those gods — whether we like it or not — are mostly human-created images in our own minds. The sacred does not need anyone to be “for it”; it can do just fine without us and our monkey business. 😉
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It’s beautiful nature 🏵️
Beautiful dragonfly, Tom. Love the color! There can be bright spots in public education. My kids were both in a multiage 4th-5th-6th grade class. Lots of multidisciplinary teaching in that classroom. The teachers had a great appreciation of the arts.