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A Truth Summit and
Rescuing Kittens -
The Same Motivation?
In my spare bathroom (thank goodness for that spare bathroom), there are 7 kittens and 3 mother cats. Yesterday, the 3 mother cats were spayed. Those cats and kittens aren't mine. They're from the farm next door.
I'll be finding homes for the kittens over the next couple of weeks. I hope I'll find homes for them all - not so easy in the summer. One home so far.
The mothers will go back to the barn, unless someone takes them. Not very likely - though one is amazingly affectionate.
Why take in the kittens, why take on the spaying?
I'll get back to that.
But first, I've also taken on - totally my choice, no one pushing me at all - something else. A major teleseminar series:
Personal Journeys Toward
Difficult Truths -
Understanding Islam,
Understanding the West
Why the hell do this, when I could be walking the dogs, or doing something that readily earns money - or when I could be rescuing more cats?
It has to do with emotion and motivation. There's an emotion motivating me.
In fact, the emotion motivating me is the same as with the cats. I care. I see a problem and it bothers me a lot. So it's intrinsic motivation that gets me going. In fact, in good measure, it's the same intrinsic motivation. Caring.
There are differences. My first impetus to pay attention to Islam wasn't that I cared about my world. It was that something didn't make sense - claims about Islam's being a religion of peace, massive Muslim rage about a little cartoon, and general lack of Muslim concern about the masses of killings done in the name of their religion.
I satisfied my curiosity about what was going on. But I've kept going.
Another motivation: I had things to say, and found it hard to get people to listen. That didn't sit well with me. I don't mean I cared that people agreed. I cared that they heard what I said, rather than brushed it aside.
But there is more. I'm in what I see as a safe space. I don't see my personal life in trouble because of Islam. I could well be wrong about that, of course - if Islam makes lots more inroads into the West. But, for now, it feels safer to ignore Islam than to pay attention to it. In fact, I feel bullied - by political correctness and by the faint threat of Islamic fatwas.
That brings me to another motivation: I don't like to be bullied, and even less do I feel okay about backing down when I'm being bullied.
But all that isn't enough.
Those kittens. Not my responsibility, I could say. My own cats are spayed and neutered. My cats aren't adding to the cat overpopulation problem. It's not my fault the neighbor next door has behaved irresponsibly.
That brings me back to emotion and motivation. There are lots of emotions that can motivate us. Anger. Love. Hatred.
In this case, I care. So I'm putting time, and also money, into taking care of what is, on many levels, not my problem - except through caring.
And caring is also very much in there, in terms of the teleseminar series. I care - about my society, my world, human rights, safety, the right to flourish.
And I care to do all I can.
I don't know how much I'll accomplish. I know, though, that I'll accomplish nothing if I just complain about my neighbor, and if I just complain about the politically correct.
I'm grateful for all the people who care.
The mother cats got very low-cost spaying, because someone has cared enough to set up a monthly low-cost spay neuter program, not far from me.
And there are many others who care.
As for the teleseminar series, it will consist of interviews with other people who care very much about human rights, values such as freedom of expression, our right to flourish and lead lives of our choosing rather than lives of submission.
Once again, I'm not alone, and very grateful for that.
Elsa
July 19, 2012
previous next
Emotion and motivation.
Caring for others at the heart of
intrinsic motivation
Here are more cat blogs.
Emotion and motivation.
Caring for
others as the heart of
intrinsic motivation - also in
person journeys exploring
the truth about Islam.
And what is next?
What comes after exploring
emotion and motivation,
intrinsic motivation,
the importance of motivation?
Caring for others is always there in my life.
So is caring for the world,
about Islam and the West, human rights,
freedom of expression, safety.
Next?
Another thought.
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