Somewhere out there, someone you have never met is also just waking up. That is the opening move of metta (say "met-tah"), the loving-kindness practice counted among Buddhism's four sublime states. An early verse on the subject treats it less as sentiment than as discipline: before any wish for others, the practitioner is asked to be honest, easy to get along with, content, and light in their demands. Only then comes the wish, extended without exception to beings weak or strong, near or far, seen or unseen. Its central image is a mother guarding her only child: fierce, specific, willing to risk something. Not a general good mood aimed at the ceiling. Before you reach for the phone this morning, pick one actual person, someone real, waking up somewhere right now, and aim that exact warmth at them. Just them. One breath is enough.