Compassion and thankfulness

“Kindly let the power of your compassion arise, to quickly stem the flow of blood and tears.”

Those words from Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, are part of a prayer worth pondering on this Thanksgiving.

For those who have a job, a family, a home, or even a dog they love, it is a time to be thankful, with reflections on those who are less fortunate. Across the country, and right here in the Flathead Valley, many people are living through hard times.

The Flathead County jobless rate has surged back to nearly 11 percent, with more than 7,000 jobs lost since August of 2009. Those losses have manifested themselves in many ways beyond bankruptcies and home foreclosures.

The Montana Food Bank Network and food banks in the Flathead have distributed record amounts of food to an unprecedented number of people this year.

The valley’s schools are serving more free or reduced-price lunches than ever before.

There are more than 70 homeless children enrolled in the Kalispell school district. The problem “just seems like it’s getting pretty common,” said one school district official. “They’re living in campers, living in rented bedrooms from other folks. A lot of folks are living in hotels right now.”

Let your compassion arise, and feel grateful for the things you do have, even the simple things that surround you.

There are a good many of us who have been blessed with more than we need, and if ever there was a time to share that abundance, it’s now. Local charities such as the Salvation Army and United Way are on overdrive this time of year helping as many of the less fortunate as they can.

The Flathead Valley is known as a place where the community still rallies around those in need. That is indeed “compassion arising, and let’s strive to continue giving and continue caring. It doesn’t have to be much and it doesn’t have to be cash. Sometimes the little things are just as meaningful. Spend time with a shut-in; bring over some Thanksgiving leftovers. Visit a nursing home and hug someone who needs a little human contact.

There are endless ways to show we care for one another. And it’s the proliferation of those good deeds, however big or small, that will get us by in these challenging times.