Amy Johnson

Tortoises are slow and steady, each step made with great intention. Not too dissimilar to the counseling process. For Catheryn Robinson, that’s a good thing.

When working with juvenile sex offenders, professionals may feel that the treatment protocol should vary from traditional treatment methods. While there is the offense-specific component that needs to be addressed, overall youth who have committed sexual offenses respond well to the same treatment as other adjudicated youth.

In my last blog, I shared a little about the plight of shelter dogs -- one shelter dog in particular. Nia has been living in a narrow wire kennel run for at least four months. Despite living in confined quarters with limited human contact and almost non-existent mental or emotional stimulation, Nia stays in seemingly satisfactory spirits.

There is nothing warm and cozy about her room. It’s just three feet by five feet of hard, thin strands of interlocking steel. Overhead, the long, yellow fluorescent lights buzz incessantly like annoying mosquitoes. There is nothing to buffer the non-stop barks and echoes that follow. The disinfectants and bleach vapors burn her strong olfactory systems.

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." -Albert Schweitzer Happy belated birthday to Albert Schweitzer (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965), humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1952). Schweitzer was ahead of his time, his words and beliefs still, more than a century later, continue to remind us that a “cherished life” extends beyond human beings. The beauty of Schweitzer’s value system was that he believed that all life, regardless of how seemingly insignificant, is still life. This revelation came early to Schweitzer when, as a youth, and despite his apprehension, he accompanied a friend to shoot birds with rocks and a slingshot. There they saw small sparrows sharing their melodies. As young Albert reluctantly readied his slingshot, the local church bells suddenly rang out. He took this as a sign; the sparrows were not perched on the tree limb for his entertainment, but were rather magnificent manifestations of life.