Caring is not the use of fear,
caring is not the use of pleasure.
Caring is the use of love,
caring is the use of awareness.
Caring is listening,
caring is understanding what is heard,
caring is the courage to say, “I was wrong,”
caring is the strength and power of a mother.
Caring is fulfilling the needs of others,
without forgetting oneself.
Caring is not commanding others,
caring is lifting others up.
Caring is the use of love,
toward both yourself and others.
Caring is expansive
and the creation of possibilities.
Caring is not competition,
nor sabotaging others.
Caring is the expression of love
and giving this to others.
Caring is an inner quality of a person,
not the first priority on an Excel spreadsheet.
Caring is a conscious act,
toward oneself and all of creation.
Caring cannot be thought
or imagined.
Caring is like
jumping into unknown waters.
Caring shows maturity,
partial experience of it, an endeavor.
The absence of caring shows cynicism,
whose seed lies in fear.
Caring is always present,
it was created with all of creation.
To experience caring continuously,
you must let go of everything.
The story of the poem
It was on July 7th, 2019, when this poem touched me. I remember that day was a beautiful, sunny summer day, but unfortunately, I don’t recall exactly what led me to a restaurant on the border of Kopli, Pelgulinn, and Kalamaja. Still, I decided to have lunch there. Upon entering, the place had a calm vibe, and the food looked good. Yet, I felt there was something more in the air.
After finishing lunch, I couldn’t rush away; instead, I lingered around for a while. This is when the thread began to unravel because, at some point, I noticed how one waiter was serving customers differently. I found this interesting because I noticed how she welcomed the customers – there was something hidden that I didn’t immediately understand. I observed how she served – there was more precision, respect, and straightforwardness than usual, and yet there was still something more, something undefined. Eventually, that something became clear – it was caring, both toward the customer and himself. Once I realized this, the poem began to tell its own story, and that is how it came together.