the “humans are inherently selfish” fanclub can genuinely and in all honesty go to hell. i once came back from a school yard where the kids had heaped piles of leaves and cut wildflowers on a narrow strip of grass bc a bee had died. i actually want to cry.
when i was a child, my parents told me our houseplant would die of lack of sunlight. i was so young i don’t even remember this, but apparently, my response to this was starting to carry the plant around like an emotional support stuffed animal. whenever my family went outside i would hold the pot on my head to make it reach the sun better. i wasn’t in school yet, didn’t have any exposure to the lessons on caring they give in elementary, i don’t remember my thought process - but i can guess. kids integrally care about things, even tiny bugs and inanimate plants. humans care.
don’t let them beat it out of you
as someone in my 40s, may i also add: if they beat it out of you? put in the work to relearn it until it’s a part of you again. a part you’re proud enough of that if someone tells you it’s dumb and you should stop, you can laugh and say “oh, no. no, i don’t believe i will.” and then keep on keepin’ on.
compassion can often be a skill that needs to be relearned. so relearn it and revel in it.
