We all have so much that pulls at us demanding our attention, or have no pressures and are living mellow. Two great points of view where it is easy to shut off anything else. Whoa, wait a minute, you are asking me to care about something else? Why care about anything else I am not doing already?
I’m sure you have someone you care about now. Someone, maybe a work mate, friend, or lover. Maybe someone who you depend upon for your security in some way, financially or emotionally. Maybe your child. OK, now we know you care. These are the places where you somehow belong. Belong to a work group, family or the people you hang with. OK, now we know who you care about.
Do you go out walking around? Drive on the roads? Take public transit? Maybe you care how that “rolls”. Get out of my way, I want to get to where I want/need. OK, you care, at least how these “others” agree or disagree to with whatever you want/need.
Anybody who takes in the current news/email is bombarded with reasons to care. At least to care to stay out of whatever trouble is in the news. Political this, religious that, civic something, neighbor whatever.
But it is very hard to live in a cave. Not much to eat, and no one to talk to. Outside the cave is the place where everything happens. That’s where our food is grown, people walk around smiling or shooting at each other. People we might not even know, smiling, talking, and wondering, what is going on, anyway.
I have heard the expression “Not my monkey, not my circus”. Maybe it is our monkey, our circus. Someone who came before us cared, to carve out whatever path we are walking on. Someone cared. What do you love enough for your care to flourish?