A mental image of another being may appear,
of a being less fortunate.
Many attempts have been made to portray this,
but we are not that being.

Throughout history we have written of glories, of joys,
of certain harmonies.
But each of us, live in ways that allow us to ignore what we are not.

We the fortunate often live wrapped in our own stories.
Often we forget that things can get worse.
Or perhaps we see our apparent separation
as a justification for selfishness.

Thus, for hundreds of thousands of years,
human beings have committed countless acts of cruelty.
Thus we have ignored innumerable experiences of others.

But sometimes, in our minds,
a space opens for considering the other.
Perhaps starting with those close to us,
but often expanding further and further
toward what may not be so familiar.

How beautiful that is: human compassion.
Sometimes we see it in properly ethical medicine, in veterinary care;
sometimes in meditation,
sometimes in an attitude or a conversation,
sometimes in an initiative or a religion.

How beautiful it is when it overwhelms us,
when it truly and deeply moves us,
when it has no limits.

How beautiful it is when it manages to change opinions,
when it listens to science and logic.

And when it listens to science and logic,
it then notices tremendous magnitudes,
the true scale of what is ethically valuable.

Imagining a stone against the entire Himalayas.