This page will discuss passions and why they are important to us. I am calling this page Front Porch Compassion and Loving the Forgotten. You might ask why I am using front porch in my title. But that’s an easy answer. The front porch could be considered a passion, especially for those of us born in the South.
My website reflects the warmth of a Southern front porch. You will find it used in many of my blog pages, my Facebook group, and other social media. In the South, sitting on the front porch is a way of relaxing. You can read, think, and just kick back and relax, maybe drinking a glass of sweet Southern iced tea. I hope that when you come to my website or social media, you will stop and reflect on what you find here.
As a child, I used to bring home the kittens found under the Presbyterian church across the alley from my parents’ business and our home, which was above their business. I was my own animal rescue service. I developed a passion for these neglected cats and would bring them home to raise them. I am sure my parents were not thrilled that I would drag kittens home over and over again to feed and raise. Often, I would get friends to adopt one or two.
My parents were florist so I was often around the elderly in homes and nursing homes delivering flowers as a child. Again, I developed a passion for the elderly, which carried into my adult life.
The Forgotten
Over the years, as each year of my life has passed by, my heart has been drawn again and again to these two groups that are often pushed to the margins of life. Our elderly and animals. You see, when you look closer, they share much more than most people realize. So let’s look at a few of those things. But first, let’s define what passion is and why it is important to us.
When people feel their life has purpose, the brain organizes behavior around goals instead of reacting to stress moment by moment.
Studies show people with a clear sense of purpose tend to have:
- Better decision-making
- Higher motivation
- Greater resilience during hardship
- Less anxiety about uncertainty
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, founder of Logotherapy, observed that people survive and endure suffering better when they believe their life still has meaning or contribution ahead of them.
So why do I think our elderly and animals share similarities that have become my purpose and compassion? Purpose answers the question why keep going? You see, when you look closer, they share much more than most people realize.
1. They both depend on others to speak up for them.
2. They both deserve dignity
3. They both are far too easy to ignore
Small acts of kindness become powerful when offered with sincerity. Perhaps that is the greatest lesson age teaches us. Love does not have to be grand to change a life. Sometimes it begins with opening a door or a heart. Some lessons don’t come from books. They come from living long enough to notice who or what gets overlooked.
Purpose Improves Mental and Physical Health
People who report a strong life purpose often experience things like lower rates of depression, reduced stress hormones, better sleep, and lower risk of cognitive decline and longer lifespans.
Researchers believe purpose activates long-term thinking patterns, which encourage healthier habits and social connections.
Purpose Creates Identity and Self-Worth
Purpose helps answer three internal questions:
- Who am I?
- Why do I matter?
- Where am I going?
Without purpose, people often feel stuck, restless, or disconnected This is especially true of our senior population.
Why Purpose Changes Over Time
Here’s the part that many people don’t realize purpose is not permanent. Purpose evolves as life seasons change. As we mature in life, our focus tends to be on things like career, family, security, or achievements. Purpose often equals success or stability.
Later In Life
As we age, our purpose naturally shifts toward things like mentoring, compassion, faith or spirituality, sharing wisdom and helping others avoid struggles.
Purpose becomes less about achievement and more about significance.
This is why many people feel a strong calling toward service, storytelling, or advocacy later in life.
The Japanese idea of Ikigai describes purpose as the overlap between:
- What you love
- What you’re good at
- What helps others
- What gives life meaning
The Big Truth the Meaning of Purpose and Compassion
People don’t lose purpose. They outgrow old purposes. Purpose isn’t discovered once it’s rediscovered many times. Purpose often becomes clearer when we begin helping others.
I’ve learned compassion isn’t loud. It doesn’t demand attention. Most of the time, compassion sits quietly on the front porch, watching the world go by. If we look hard enough, we start noticing who or what was never invited to sit down on the front porch swing with us. We start to pay attention and listen to the needs of our elders, the abandoned, abused, or forgotten needs of thousands of pets in shelters or on the streets around the world.
Organizations
I am so thankful for the organization who are willing to feed, care for, and fly animals across the United States to find loving care and forever homes for shelter animals.
Pilots N Paws
- A well-known U.S. nonprofit network of volunteer pilots who fly rescue animals.
- They connect shelters, rescues, and foster families with private pilots willing to transport pets.
- Animals are flown from overcrowded or high-risk shelters to places where they have a better chance at adoption.
- Wings of Rescue
- Donation-supported charity that flies large groups of at-risk pets from disaster areas or overcrowded shelters to safe rescues nationwide
- Here in North Texas, we hear about the clear the shelter campaigns.
- And what about all those who foster animals, they are angels on earth to me. Just as caregivers are angels on earth for our elderly population. It takes special people to work caring for the elderly day after day.
A wagging tail. A quiet porch. A heart still full of purpose. Front Porch Compassion is a gentle reminder that passion and purpose never expire; it simply changes shape. If you believe kindness still matters, this story may speak to your heart today.
Are you looking for a way to support one of your favorite pet charities? Go here and let us help you.
The Legacy We Leave
These types of kindness might be the dog that finally felt safe. A person who felt seen or the friend who felt understood. Passion is proof that purpose never expires. It simply matures into something stronger, compassion guided by experience. I feel the world needs that kind of passion now more than ever. Because loving the forgotten doesn’t just change them, it changes us too. And it doesn’t matter if you start your purpose as a child, as I did, or if you find your purpose later in life.
The Healing Power of Rescue
Rescue animals carry stories we may never fully know. Some have been neglected, abandoned, or surrendered for one reason or another, and some simply got lost in a world moving too fast. The remarkable thing is, yet they still trust again. They still show unconditional love. That trust is powerful.
Front Porch Compassion and Loving the Forgotten
Having worked in the senior housing industry with our elderly for many years, I have listened to Veteran’s stories of how adopting an animal helped get them through the pain of war. Others shared that adopting a pet helps them to overcome loneliness. Many no longer have families, and the adopted pet has become their sole family.
When our elderly choose to care for a animal, something remarkable happens. The relationship becomes mutual healing. The animal finds safety. The person finds companionship, purpose, and daily joy.
For the elderly, the morning routines gain meaning again. Feeding times, walks, and quiet moments together soften the loneliness. Laughter returns in small, unexpected ways. A wagging tail can remind us that we are still needed. And being needed is one of the greatest gifts at any age.
Feelings of Abandonment
Just like the abandoned pet, the elderly, as they age, feel feelings of abandonment by family and friends. We become aware that with each passing year, we see more and more that our family and friends are no longer with us. Yet the small fur babies have become our family and give the unconditional love that is so needed for both the pet and the elderly. Too often, we hear of abuse of the elderly and animals, but together they find love and healing.
When the elderly can no longer care for themselves in their home and have to move into somewhere that can handle higher health needs, just having that pet with them makes all the difference. This benefits both the pet and the senior.
Today, many hospitals, assisted living, care homes, and even nursing homes recognize that family pets can and should be allowed to life or visit, and those that do not allow them may have a house pet for all to enjoy. Today, we recognize that these bonds are beneficial for both.
Compassion Has No Age Limit
Many believe passion belongs to the young, But passion later in life is deeper. It is quieter, steadier, and rooted in meaning. At this stage of life, compassion becomes intentional. You notice things others overlook. The lonely neighbor, the struggling friend, the senior who feels invisible, or the small rescue dog waiting for a safe home.
Front Porch Compassion and Loving the Forgotten
You understand patience because life has taught you to wait. You understand forgiveness because life has required it. And you understand love because you have learned how precious time truly is.
Passion is not about proving anything. It is about living authentically.
Purpose: Reduces Fear of Aging
One fascinating finding that I found doing my research for this page was that people who feel useful or needed view aging very differently. Instead of asking what am I losing, they begin asking what can I still give. Maybe you have felt this too.
So again, I ask, why do I think our elderly and animals share similarities? Why have they become my purpose and compassion? You I hope have learned that both depend on others to speak up for them. They both deserve dignity. They both are far too easy to ignore.
In Conclusion
So when you are sitting on the front porch, watching the world go by, think about what your purpose is. Are you showing Front Porch Compassion and Loving for the Forgotten in your or someone else’s life?
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