{"id":2151,"date":"2018-06-18T07:15:01","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T11:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robinbotie.com\/blog\/?p=2151"},"modified":"2018-06-18T11:11:19","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T15:11:19","slug":"we-need-to-take-care-of-each-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robinbotie.com\/blog\/we-need-to-take-care-of-each-other\/","title":{"rendered":"We Need to Take Care of Each Other"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Robin<\/a>Leaving the house one morning last week, I noticed a bright Monarch butterfly flying around the spirea bush outside my front door. I stood a moment watching it flutter over the tiny nectar-rich blooms, the most perfect setting a butterfly could want. Then I left in a hurry. Later that day, I noticed the butterfly was still there. It was flapping its wings only occasionally and seemed to be settling in for the night. Strange how it was still there, I thought. Maybe it was laying eggs, or maybe it was a sign from my daughter who died. I went about my long list of things to do before bed and forgot about it. The next day I found the butterfly. Still there. Only now it was lifeless.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I tried to gently remove the poor thing from its perch, I found one of its antennae was wound around a small branch. The butterfly had gotten itself stuck. And now it was dead. All that time, I never noticed it had been struggling. If only I had reached out my hand when I first saw the butterfly, I could have shooed it away and maybe it would still be alive. If I had spent more time, I might have seen it was in trouble. I could have helped.<\/span><\/p>\n

That was the same week Anthony Bourdain<\/a> took his life. CNN<\/a>, the TV station that keeps me company as I photoshop, was broadcasting information for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline<\/a>. In between they were playing clips from the celebrity chef\/author\u2019s popular world-travel documentary, Parts Unknown. It was hard to believe. The man who had everything. A perfect life. Now over. Where did he get stuck?<\/span><\/p>\n

It made me realize we need to take care of each other better. We need to slow down and pay attention. Love, listen, and reach out more. Sometimes I can be oblivious to the inner workings of my fellow humans and other creatures around me. But these are the ones I share this time on earth with. We are all related. And each one’s well-being matters. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do you help a friend who\u2019s stuck in a bad place? And what can I do with this dead butterfly, too beautiful to throw away?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leaving the house one morning last week, I noticed a bright Monarch butterfly flying around the spirea bush outside my front door. I stood a moment watching it flutter over the tiny nectar-rich blooms, the most perfect setting a butterfly could want. Then I left in a hurry. Later that day, I noticed the butterfly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1432],"tags":[1596,224,1598,1593,1064,1597,1594,1595,1599],"class_list":["post-2151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1432","tag-anthony-bourdain","tag-depression","tag-helping-others-out","tag-monarch-butterfly","tag-reaching-out","tag-stuck-in-a-bad-place","tag-suicide","tag-taking-ones-life","tag-we-need-to-take-care-of-each-other"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t