What the hell is RIGHT with you?

Most people don’t care about the suffering of animals - or at least not enough to change their behavior or give anything up.

Everywhere I go, I see animal products. In the supermarket, people toss dairy, eggs and meat into their carts without any consideration for the animal that produced them - or was them - thinking only about tonight’s dinner. At restaurants, the menus tell the same story. I see customers pick animals from the menu, leaving bits and bones on the plate when they depart.

Indifference everywhere.

But then, on another day, I find myself at an animal rights or vegan event. A place where people gather to learn about helping animals more effectively. I see hundreds of people listening intently, sharing ideas, offering their time, their money, their energy - for beings of another species that they’ll never meet.

I look at these people, and one question pops into my mind:

What the hell is right with you?

Because in a world where most don’t care, you do.

It’s actually a really important question. What did go right with you? How did you become the way you are? Was it somehow your own effort, your choices? Or was it your genes, your parents, your upbringing, the twists and turns of life that shaped you into who you are?

If we knew the answer, maybe we could make everyone care.

I know it doesn’t always feel right. Because the more you care, the more it hurts. But it is right. In fact, I think you’ve been given a gift. The gift of caring. It gives your life purpose - something many people search for until they die. A life with purpose is a more satisfying life.

But even more important, the gift of caring allows you to help - to help all beings, and make this world a kinder place.

So yes, remind yourself often:

Something is profoundly, beautifully right with you.