Pick your favorite complement. Cute, kind, handsome, sexy, loving, smart, anything. Doesn't have to be one of those. Could be evil, villainous, I won't judge.
One of the things I have been thinking about is how much discourse is stunted by the idea that “I know better than you.” We see it on Mastodon and other social media sites, but we also see it in life, especially if we are a member of an under-represented, marginalized, or minority group.
This one-upmanship crowds out sharing and can make people afraid to voice their opinion or experience due to risk of policing, shaming, condescension, or any of the other ways that people try to demonstrate power over others.
I think it’s worth remembering that we’re all doing life in our own way. We all have something of value to share, and we’re all experts in our own situation.
While there are many things in life that I care about, the one thing that truly matters is how we treat each other.
If we change nothing more than the self-serving apathy that runs rampant throughout all of our societies, we level up in an indescribable way. The impact would be unfathomable.
Love, kindness, and compassion are literally all we need to change the course of our species and our planet.