Starting to work on this. February 5, 2022

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Gift of the Tortoise

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Today, we have a story - part fable, part mythical retelling.  Gift of the Tortoise After calming vying traders in a local village marketplace, Hermes visited the countryside. There, the Olympian god heard a distant whistle that warmed his heart.   The whistling came from a grove of trees. A boy was feeding an old tortoise some leaves and stems there. The tortoise peaked its head out from the brush. “You are hungry for an old one,” the boy, Orpheus, said to the tortoise. “I saw berries around the bend. I’ll bring them back to you. Don’t leave. I’ll be right back.” Orpheus scampered away. Hermes could tell the young boy was lonely, and the tortoise was a welcome friend. The boy's peers thought him odd and they could be cruel. Sensitive and gifted, the boy had not yet grown into his potential. Hermes Kourotrophos could help young Orpheus. Hermes understood that the old tortoise’s moments were numbered. He granted the tortoise the gift of speech and the ability to see him. “Astou...
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Recognizing the Deity of Compassion in Athens

Membership in the greater Olympian pantheon in Greece was not static. Greeks added or altered myths over generations. So, the view Greeks had of the pantheon changed from 750 BCE. Overall, myths became more nuanced with greater complexity over time. By a thousand years in 250 CE, pantheon followers developed varied outlooks. Eleos was an understated deity added during this stretch. Eleos had her prime location of worship in Athens, near the Altar of the Twelve Gods. While early gender references for Eleos may have been masculine, later ones were more often feminine. The deity of mercy and compassion had her place within the greater pantheon. Athenians venerated Eleos at The Altar of Pity. In the earliest Greek writing, compassion wasn't yet personified by deity. In his book, “Acts of Compassion in Greek Tragic Drama,” Johnson discusses the Iliad. Here he refers to eleos as a concept as so aligned during Homer's time. The value of compassion is inherent within early Greek cultur...
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Compassion as a Precursor to Wisdom

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  Who wouldn’t want to have more wisdom in their life? I suppose some might hesitate pursuing wisdom if convinced it only came via coping with problems. But is that all there is to wisdom? Every older adult has had challenging life experiences. But only some seem to gain true wisdom. What causes some to have it and others not? While many factors may be involved, one is well recognized. The practice of compassion is important in the alchemy that is wisdom development. What is Compassion? Compassion is a feeling of sympathy or sorrow for another person’s suffering. It is opposite of apathy or indifference. Its makeup includes having concern and respect for someone in pain.   Many believe we should strive to cultivate the virtue of compassion in ourselves. It motivates us to help others when they are suffering. The more of us helping others, the better off we all may be. How Can We Cultivate Compassion? Recent studies have shown that there are many benefits to practicing compassi...
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