What did you do with your day? I can tell you how my day went.
I had a long and painful discussion with my wife of 25 years about something annoying that I do.
SEE, I have tons and tons of useless media locked in my head, and I quote it without thinking. For example, if you say beach, I instantly think of Madagascar II, in which Melman says “the beach, or a good book…” So, you say beach, and I say “or a good book.”
It’s annoying for all of us, because it kinda kills the conversation. And I do it without thinking. It’s a low energy way to talk.
So, this afternoon I was thinking about racism, and how that’s a low energy proposition, too
I’ve told my kids for years that you either give or take. It’s easy to take because it requires no energy, but we can’t all just be takers.
It’s also easy to hate, but you have to give to love. Our lowest, most base state gives nothing, and only takes.
Isn’t that selfishness in a nutshell? I give you nothing, because to show you love and compassion means I have to give of myself.
And isn’t racism the ultimate expression of selfishness?
So, how do we fix it?
Generosity, my friend. You and me. We have to give of our energy and spirit, our time and our treasure, if we want the world to be a better place.
For my part, no more low-energy babble. And believe me, for me, that’s a tough row to hoe! Ho, ho, ho! Poop – just did it again!
John D Reinhart 
What a simple, uncomplicated solution you’ve outlined. What a great thing to tell your children. Do you think as human beings we’re in short supply of empathy and compassion….or that they’re in there and just get shoved down, a low priority, buried beneath the struggle to survive? I wonder why *we* tend to succumb to base emotions more easily. It would be great if our sense of caring, giving, and concern for others always immediately balked at the first sight of base emotions rising up. If empathy was a superhero, it would be a different world! 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words. I truly think that each of us is innately compassionate, although my first thought was the opposite. The animal in us wants to protect itself. But we somewhere long ago realized that the key to survival lies in communication and cooperation, and those both require empathy. I don’t know why certain individuals revert to that selfish, protective state, even in the midst of those that behave more altruistically. What do you think?