Life of Wry

Sometimes the perfect project just comes along..

Last summer, I met David Breaux.  Most people in town are probably aware of him as he has been standing on the corner of 3rd and C in downtown Davis on and off (but mostly on) since June 2009.  Jim and I got into a lengthy conversation with him one day and learned, among other things, he is publishing a book.

After graduating from college (he attended Stanford) and working for a while in the Bay Area, he began, in his own words, a journey of inquiry.  He was inspired by the words and teachings of Martin Luther King, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and others, and started to think about how he might turn his passion for peace into action.

He decided to devote his life to the study and promotion of compassion.  And he decided to start his journey in Davis.

David has been collecting comments about compassion from passers by who write their thoughts in his journal.  After nearly two years, he has filled dozens of journals with thousands of comments.  He has painstakingly transcribed these comments and compiled them into a book.

And here’s the great project:  I offered to proofread his compilation, and he graciously accepted.

So, in November he gave me his first draft and I read it over Thanksgiving.  I read the second draft over Christmas, and as of last night finished the third and final draft.  And now the book is finally ready for publication.  I’m not the only volunteer on this project; there are many other people who came forward with offers of assistance who are working with him on layout, cover design, photographs, and many other publishing details.   But I feel lucky to have had a role, and have thoroughly enjoyed my small contribution.

For sheer proofreading, it was a dream job.  Each entry is anywhere from one word to 3 or 4 sentences, short and easy to consume.  The concepts are simple, but inspiring.  Not only are they all about compassion, kindness, grace and love, they are comments written by thousands of different people, who often have very different ideas about the concept of compassion, and all of the people are just ordinary folks, folks who live in my town.  And interesting, having read these thousands of definitions three times over, I read different things into them each time.  My mood affects my reaction to them.  So does my attitude at the moment, or alertness, or focus.  I read them differently and find different nuggets of wisdom each time.

And nevermind I’m reading these comments about charity and goodwill toward human and animalkind during the holidays, during the Tucson murders, during a most wildly uncivil time in our political discourse, during the anniversary of the Haiti earthquake, and on and on.  Lots to think about while reading.   The reading also coincides with my own time of self inquiry (what time isn’t).  So.. you know.. interestingly timed.  And the dead of winter.. nothing like burrowing down in the big chair in front of the fire on a dark and stormy–or foggy–day and reading thoughts on compassion.  Bonus: I get to correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax and so on.  OCD heaven on top of it all.

So yeah, great project at a great time.  I’m hoping that as David roams the world, continuing on his journey of compassion, he’ll keep me in his roladex and call on me again for subsequent volumes.  Probably not, but who knows?

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Finally, for a nice bit of synchronicity, it’s Martin Luther King’s birthday today, so I’ll close with one of my favorite of his quotes, even though it doesn’t deal directly with compassion.

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”