Things on the internet go viral for two reasons: one, there are cats involved; two, someone has taken a very specific, yet universally relatable truth and nailed it on the head. The below, from Aussie-based psych student Carla Borthwick, has suddenly been in heavy circulation within our wellness circle, especially on Instagram — and with good reason.

The ease with which we judge others on social media has become the topic of more and more public discussion lately. In wellness, that lack of grace usually manifests in a very specific way.

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To the climate change activists who aren’t attentive to fast fashion, thank you.
To the person who uses metal straws to save fish but consumes animals, I’d like to say thank you.
To the vegan who isn’t aware of our homelessness problem, thank you.
To the climate change activists who aren’t attentive to fast fashion, thank you.
To the girl who gives her old clothes to the disadvantaged but isn’t educated on sex trafficking, thank you.
To the guy who picks up rubbish on his way home from a surf but isn’t well-informed about male suicide rates, thank you.
To the people who stand up for horse racing concerns but are uninformed of the cruelty of the dairy industry, thank you.
To the positive Instagram influencer who hasn’t cultivated a plastic-free lifestyle, thank you.
To the grandparents who knit for sick children but aren’t up to date with current race and homophobic issues, thank you.
To the students that stand up for bullying but are unaware of the constant domestic violence epidemic, thank you.

To the peace activists, feminists, animal adopters, teachers, volunteers, foster carers, recyclers, givers, doers and believers, I say thank you.

We are all on a different path and we all see through different eyes.
Current world issues that you are passionate about, aren’t always what other people are trying to change… and that’s okay.

It’s not everyone’s job to save every part of the world but it is everyone’s responsibility to thank every person who is doing THEIR part to save the world.
Don’t critique, just appreciate.
Don’t judge, just educate.
We’re all trying our best.

Thank you.

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Between the diversity of opinion on diet protocols and the learning curve involved in becoming educated on a wide swath of quickly-evolving cultural topics, its possible there’s not a wellness lover out there who couldn’t fundamentally offend the guy next to them in line at Erewhon. As the modern health and wellness industry has expanded to include a wider range of topics than ever before — gender equality, mental health and low-waste living, most notably — the values of our community have become more and more fractured.

Years ago, around the time of our launch, the only judgmental anecdotes we encountered came from a tiny cross-section of plant-based eaters. Fast-forward to today, there are just short of two dozen philosophical communities we’re hoping to be sensitive toward with any given story. Since we’re all content creators these days through social media, the same task belongs to any individual on the ‘gram and the feat is nearly impossible.

There’s something deeply incongruent about a wellness devotee who can’t behave well toward others. And truth be told, none of us is innocent on this. We wanted to share this student’s though-provoking social media post with the hope that it will remind all of us to extend a bit more grace toward one another. It’s good to remember that the individual who is ignorant on a topic we’re passionate about may be able to say the same about us when it comes to their own cause.

Let us know how you feel in the comments section and over in our private Facebook group, The Chat