You know, my dear, that “white blindness” or the “thick skin” we call selfishness isn’t just something found in old storybooks. It hides right here, inside each of us, waiting for a moment of distraction to take root. If we feed the darkness of the heart, our eyes grow tired and lose the habit of seeing anything beyond the fence of our own ego.

In the rush of our daily chores, this quiet selfishness can wake up over the smallest thing, blurring our vision and shrinking our world. It grows strong on neglect—on the “good mornings” we don’t say and the kindness we forget to offer. It is a fragile thing: in a heartbeat, the light of compassion can turn into the cold shadow of indifference. Our true work is to resist that pull of wanting to be the center of everything.

We must strive to keep our hearts like an open door. We need to look past our own gardens and nourish the seeds of goodness that live within us. Only then can we keep our inner light from fading, ensuring our eyes stay clear enough to embrace the world with a gaze of kinship.

Let us make a pact to water the flowers of compassion in the soil of our hearts. Let them bloom and light up the dark corners, so that our eyes may always see past ourselves and toward the shared humanity that surrounds us all.

©️ Beatriz Esmer