Compassion comes in many forms, I think on this day, my son’s capacity for compassion and empathy and understanding of a world we so often take for granted shone bright in its innocence and purity . . .
There are those who say autistic people do not have the capability to feel empathy or compassion or relate to the emotional world around them. I know this to be untrue, they may express these feelings differently than others, but they are more than capable of feeling them.
When my children were young we spent many afternoons in the park. Sometimes, when I drive past it, I can almost see them playing there, I hear their innocent laughter between the beats of my heart. One of these outings stands out in my memory, it was a beautiful and brisk autumn day, the perfect kind of day for something special.
Two of my four children are autistic, one is quite social and loves to run and play, the other is very much the opposite. He prefers to be still, watching, listening, taking in everything around him. While his brothers and sister quickly ran out into the open field to play, he spent the afternoon with his arms wrapped around a tree, he wrote this poem when he got home, he was nine years old.
VOICES OF NATURE
The wind chills me
as I walk the path
through the park
I hear a small voice
that is heard with my heart
It says “come to me”
I search for the source
of the mystical voice
there is only a single tree
ancient and weathered
roots exposed to the sun and the rain
The voice draws me nearer
and I see tiny little ants
crawling about
in search of food
I knew it was not them
that called out to me
I look to the top of the tree
the bare branches sadden me
I touch the tree
and feel enormous pain
Somehow the tree had spoken to me
maybe it is my gift
I sit next to the giant trunk
and speak to it for a while
it forgets its pain
I wrap my arms around it
as far as I can reach
I press my forehead
against the bumpy surface
and I think it’s thoughts
and I feel all that it feels
and it is thankful
Wilson Cook
This is lovely!!
Seriously??
He was 9??
My goodness.
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Thank you . . . His soul shines, it always has. Three of my kiddos are gifted with words, the fourth is as well, but where the rest of us grammar, he physics 🙂
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Beautiful!
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Wow! Just wow!!
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I love this 😀 It’s really good – took me into the moment.
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I will certainly tell him you said so . . . he is an amazing young man, always has been.
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I think the thing which particularly got me was pressing his head against the bumpy bark and holding the tree and feeling its feels and thinking its thoughts. Amazing.
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He sat with that tree for hours, well after the sun had set . . . I was in awe of him in the moment and then, when we returned home, he asked if he could dictate his thoughts for him – it was this, these beautiful words. I wish I had thought to capture the moment on film that day. My precious little boy, head pressed to an old, dying tree, his arms wrapped around it in such a warm embrace. Ugh, it brings tears to my eyes.
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Just beautiful 😀 Such empathy there.
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Thank you for sharing. I really HAD to reblog this. That stereotype of “not feeling” drives me crazy!
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I appreciate it, my son does as well. He’s made it his mission to help the world see autism through his eyes, his voice . . .
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That’s an awesome goal!
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Reblogged this on Teachezwell Blog and commented:
What a beautiful post this is! It’s a great way to squash that ridiculous notion that autistic kids are incapable of feeling. Read on for more….
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Thank you! He has been proudly breaking stereotypes his whole life 🙂
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Beautiful poem.
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I appreciate you posting this. I loved your son’s poem, it touched me.
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Thank you . . . he’s kind of my hero 🙂
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🙂 spreading joy
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Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thank you Miss Cindie 🙂
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Amazing poem, full of sensitivity! 🙂
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Thank you . . . He is an amazing 25 year old man now, still filled with this same innocence and love 🙂 My hero . . .
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