Most people are exhausted not because they care too much, but because they care about too many things they cannot touch. They are spread thin across imagined futures, abstract enemies, and endless narratives. Presence gathers that scattered energy back into the body, into the moment, into what can actually be affected. From there, compassion becomes specific. You help where help is possible. You speak where speech matters. You act where action has consequence. And you stop pretending that outrage equals impact.

— Damien Echols, Fighting Shadows