An apple core

What did the elders say? If u r observant enough, u'll see karma everywhere. Ok, I confess I invented this saying. Being Chinese, I tend to cheat a little bit on "Chinese sayings". There you go, myth busted. On a side note, the moral of my first paragraph is "don't believe there is that Chinese saying just because a Chinese says it". Excuse my digression. Coming back to where we were, the "being observant" thing. As you know from reading my other posts that my balcony has been rampaged by possums recently. I have this love-hate relationship with possums. On one hand, I find their pink nose particularly attractive. On the other hand, I find their appetite for my herbs particularly annoying. They make a mess when they eat and tend to waste. For instance, I had a couple of perfectly round, ready-to-harvest baby spinach leaves dangling on their severed stems the other day. In my house, there's a policy of zero-tolerance for food left on the plate. A number of my guests found its implementation quite daunting and occasionally embarrassing. So given my strong belief, the possums are classified persona non grata. And I moved all their favorite edibles indoors at night. So yesterday, all that was left to be eaten on the balcony was an apple core which I forgot to pick up after the study sessions. Of cos, it didn't came across my mind that the possums would eat it. I mean they are pretty spoiled over here. And of cos, of cos, you rightfully guessed that by the time I woke up this morning the apple core had gone. So as a result, I had this tender feeling now for the possums because suddenly I realized that there are these vulnerable little souls that don't get to choose which part of an apple they can eat. And I'm a member of powerful humans who get to exploit, gather, store and waste resources, and fight over who have the right to waste them. As part of the privilege, I also get to look down upon other living beings and take away their livelihood whenever and however I want. When I do care for them, I show my care in such a way that I'm bestowing mercy on them. An apple core, such a teeny weeny matter, makes me feel so tender and so compassionate. Maybe, as the Chinese say "If one's observant enough, one will find a way out of the karmic hell" (Google it, I did warn you). Through love and compassion that is.