Tara O'Keefe

To the editor,

Every now and then, I’ll meet an escapee; someone who has broken free of self-centeredness and has set out for the land of compassion. Sure you know who those people are for as soon as you come in their range you feel embraced and accepted for who you are. For those of you who suspect that you rarely get something for nothing, I am living proof that you do. On that cold November night when all was going up in flames, the owner of the building where I lived stood there on the brink of disbelieving what her wet-eyes and heart knew to be real. Despite the drama of life that was taking place, Sharen Fuller radiated photons of her continued goodwill causing some of us to beam back, and the world, in a twinkling changed.

Then, as if she had given the “fire god” its’ due respect, she wasted no time moving from person to person, from hurting heart to hurting heart seeing for herself that we all were okay. Down to earth and right on the scene, she appeared the following morning further inquiring about our welfare, only this time she was doing . What she was doing was giving away green in little white envelopes to all of her tenants. In that moment, as my hand touched hers’ I knew whatever joy was in the world came from desiring others to be happy. It didn’t matter to her whether you had tenant insurance and thus you would have a little start-up capital for the new business of life, or perhaps you were one of those still playing “catch up” on back rent. That morning Sharen Fuller didn’t want to be good, she was good. Not yummy, yummy, sticky-sweet, watch your insulin level good. Just deep down, unfailingly kind.

I do not in my right mind claim that being compassionate is easy all the time. Compassion isn’t simply opening a spigot and coating everything with all-purpose goo. Rather, I believe it requires a gut hunch that whatever I do or say unto others, I say and do unto myself.

Also, please know that I am ever on guard against disillusions. When a tsunami in South Asia snuffed out uncounted lives, the world responded with a great torrent of charity. Yet we live in a world where 30,000 kids starve each day while we obsess over our calories and sign up again for curves at Curves.

We go to work in the morning traveling the same routes that show off to tourist and visitors just how lucky we are to be stewards of this beautiful picturesque Lakes Region even as iron giants grind up our Mother earth elsewhere. There are days compassion seems as a dusting of powdered sugar on let’s say a devil’s food cake!

In reply to Bea Smith’s comment…“so what’s your point” at the end of her letter of August 14 regarding in part my letter of August 11…. Perhaps, Tina Turner’s question “what’s love got to do with it” is the real question on Mrs. Smith’s mind. Once again, my reply….EVERYTHING!

Tara O'Keefe

Meredith