#COMPASSION

[jus4bodhi]

[embervoices]

Humans aren't fundamentally good or fundamentally evil. Humans are fundamentally human.

We are often selfish. We are often compassionate. We are often destructive. We are often collaborative. We make rules to try to make the good things happen more and the bad things happen less. And they work more than they don't. But we don't always agree what the good things ARE, so yeah, we still often have conflict, among ourselves, and in our environments.

But here's the thing: You're here at all, looking at this post written by a handful of strangers, on a website built by a few dozen other strangers, on a world-wide network maintained by millions of humans around the world, via a computer that took dozens of different processes and hands to build, based on technology that took dozens-to-hundreds of people to create, based on older tech that took generations to develop, built by civilizations that required millions of humans to collaborate.

Every day you dismiss your own species in a fit of self-deprecation and despair, you are taking for granted the sheer power of human collaboration.

Humans are fundamentally SOCIAL. And as a social species, our greatest strength is each other.

“Humans are inherently selfish--" Then why do so many cultures value hospitality, to the point of dictating it in their religions? Why is it so common for hosts to offer their visitors their best food, and as much of it as they can? At some point, multiple cultures decided that they knew what it felt like to be alone and vulnerable, and promised each other to never let those who stay with them feel that way. That doesn't sound very "inherently selfish" to me.

[makingsenseofwhathappened]

Don’t call me resilient. I just dissociate with excellent timing.

[isaythingz]

So, to summarize my blazing hot take without naming actual disorders, I believe the Salamancas are more capable of empathy, emotional intelligence, and connection with others than Gustavo Fring. I would go so far as to say that if not for their damaging childhoods (looking at YOU, Hector), the Salamancas might have been fully functional members of a law-abiding society.

Seeing how sweet Abuelita is helps a lot with my theory. If she’s related to them by blood, they could have affective empathy that Hector forced them all to shove down from early childhood.

Speaking of children, we can infer that Gus had a less violent childhood than the Salamancas. We don’t have anything to indicate him being abused like Leonel and Marco. Despite this, Gus tormented animals like the Coati. Who was teaching Gus about cruelty? Gus is also much better at cold calculation, remorseless murder (Victor), and stoicism than they ever were. Bonus points for Gus triggering “this is a threat” instincts in many major characters. His behavior is consistent and so early on, even before losing Max…that combined with what we know about his role in the Pinochet Regime, I don’t see enough environmental or abusive instances that would artificially push Gus in that direction. He could have a genetic predisposition that makes him struggle more with connection but makes it easier for him to act in these ways. That doesn’t mean he’s fully emotionless. He may just have an advantage at shutting it down.

Lalo was my guinea-pig the last couple of posts. He seems to be the most capable of compassion. It sounds crazy at first. And yet, his relationships with friends and family, his avoidance of killing unless it’s necessary on a time crunch, or moments where he puts his family above himself are huge tells for me. That doesn’t mean he’s a saint. He’s still fucked up. But writing him off as fully void of empathy or deeper connections doesn’t sit well with me.

I know people use Fred and Hotel Tulipan as moments where Lalo is showing sadism or a lack of care for anything living, but I think we’re talking about one instance of logic and a moment in Lalo’s youth that can very well pass as abuse. Also note, he never mentions hurting the professor or his wife. We don’t know if he did anything at all. The worst thing he could have done was watch it all and go back for the bell because it reminds him of Tío.

I always think: “Imagine what his life could have been had he not been abused by good old Tío (which could have happened even around Hector’s incarceration due to the lack of a definite timeline),” they may even be capable of breaking the cycle of abuse if they ever wanted to try. While both Fring and the Salamancas are presently evil, Fring comes across as “nature” while Lalo and Co. show “nurture.”

Of course either way, it’s not an excuse of their canon actions. Me just spitballing. 🤪

[spacedocmom]

16/07/2025 Doctor Beverly Crusher @SpaceDocMom Incoming Transmission…

The hardest time to take care of yourself is the time when you need it the most, which makes it really tricky. It's okay to stop and rest before you're so depleted that you can no longer recognise when you need to stop. emojis: black heart, blue heart, masked, spoon

[dinosaurwithablog]

Happy Wednesday to everyone!! 😁😍🦇🫂

Danzando Joy divisione....

[thepeacefulgarden]

[metamorphesque]

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Milan Kundera (translated by Michael Henry Heim)

[youlookkindadead]

i've seen quite a bit of confusion about this, so let me attempt to clear things up :

empathy is the ability to feel somebody's emotions as though they are affecting you personally. for example, somebody tells you "my dog died last night!" -> you now feel as though you've lost a pet personally -> you feel grief and sadness just like the other person. not everyone has empathy. it's a trait some people develop and others don't. some have high empathy, some have low empathy, some (like me) have none.

sympathy is the ability to understand and care about somebody else's struggles, even if you don't feel them yourself. so, somebody tells you their dog died -> you realize how this affects them emotionally -> you care about this person, and are upset that they are suffering. not everyone has sympathy either! it's a scale, just like empathy.

compassion is doing something to relieve another person's suffering or make them feel better. somebody tells you their dog died -> you don't want them to remain upset -> you come up with ways to help them feel better, like offering comfort and distractions, or other forms of support. compassion is a learned trait, not something you can be born with like empathy or sympathy. anyone can learn to be compassionate, although some may struggle more with it than others; it's a skill, just like anything else.

however, none of these are required to be a good person. that's a choice you make on your own accord. i hope this clears things up!

[compass-strategies]

The key is compassionate insight, www.compassmethids.com. https://youtube.com/@compassionscompass-sb7jo?si=A4SBjEq4vc-LuIlD

Little bird… you’re loved!

[misterkusaka]

“There was a Cole,” he whispered.

[m3ntally-unw3ll]

If you cut, you're valid.

If you burn, you're valid.

If you get excessive piercings, you're valid.

If you get excessive tattoos, you're valid.

If you pull your hair, you're valid.

If you scratch yourself, you're valid.

If you bite yourself, you're valid.

If you pinch yourself, you're valid.

If you bruise yourself, you're valid.

If you hit yourself, you're valid.

If you over-exercise, you're valid.

If you pick your skin, you're valid.

If you use drugs (recreationally), you're valid.

If you restrict necessities (medicine, water, food...), you're valid.

If you fuck till you bleed, you're valid.

Self-harm is self-harm, not matter how you do it. And everyone deserves help.

[creature-wizard]

The real secret to being an effective activist isn't to hate yourself. It's learning to love and cherish everyone. You must learn to appreciate everyone's humanity, to make yourself able to see their potential and their inherent deservingness, and to value their perspectives and their feelings. You must learn how to lift up the marginalized, not put yourself down.

[tracetheradianceback]

"After the ecstasy, the laundry." —Jack Kornfield

[kafkasapartment]

How to rescue a bald-eagle.