What does it cost us to stop everything and truly connect with another person?

I know a man who works hard for me, tending gardens and mowing. I respect him. His child is ill. Today I’m frequently stopping my day to check on him, to let him know he’s not alone, that someone sees what he’s carrying.

Society has taught us to calculate this moment as loss. Lost time. Lost productivity. Lost focus on our own priorities.

But here’s what I see clearly: The only thing we lose is the illusion that we’re separate and caring is soft and weak.

We think caring depletes us. That empathy makes us vulnerable. That compassion is what we do when we can afford it—after our real work is done.

This is backwards.

When I reach out to this man, I’m not giving up my selfishness and comfort. I’m stepping into my true nature. Empathy isn’t a sacrifice. It’s recognition and human justice. What we owe each other is a debt of dignity. Connection isn’t a luxury. It’s how we’re designed to live.

The revolutionary discovery isn’t that we should care despite the cost. It’s that there never was a cost.

Caring aligns us with who we actually are. It doesn’t diminish us—it completes us. When we choose empathy, we’re not interrupting our real work. We’re doing it.

This isn’t about glorifying myself for being caring. It’s simpler and more profound than that: I can do no other. This is how I live and choose to live—as a human being caring about other human beings.

The question isn’t what caring costs us.

It’s what we lose by pretending we can’t afford it.

Why not be busy caring, having a good effect, and strengthening each other? That’s our true work. True business.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

Please share this Daily with your tribes.
This matters too – Invest in Empathy.

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