Life Lessons From a Fish

I was once convinced that all life was essentially 'bad.' I believed that every living thing was not made to be compassionate and loving. My fish taught me otherwise.
I watched Murray, my goldfish, lay helplessly on the floor of his shared aquarium. His front fin had been caught under the filter, and he was incapable of swimming. I watched him carefully, knowing that he was dying. Murray and his companion fish, Kevin, have just began to show their white spots that appear during mating season on the male fish. Mating season is a time of life, but here I am watching my beloved Murray die. Kevin has been by his side since I discovered Murray's injury. Kevin is trying to help him swim. When he isn't somehow trying to get Murray off of the floor of the aquarium, he is laying by Murray's side, so still that I've feared he is dying as well.
I have never thought of fish as compassionate and loving creatures. They were merely animals to me, I shamefully admit. Kevin and Murray have taught me that life's true nature is loving and kind. I was convinced of the opposite for so long. My jaded and pessimistic views live on, but I now see that life is essentially beautiful. If my goldfish can find a way to love and help each other, why are we so incapable of doing so? "We get to carry each other." Kevin gets to carry Murray. And he is seizing his opportunity to do so. I've never been so inspired. Murray has made it out of his corner, with Kevin's help. I never thought I could shed so many tears over two fish. While the compassion and love that Kevin is demonstrating is beautiful, Murray's state is tragic. He is going to die, regardless of any efforts made by Kevin or me. So all I can do is sit and cry for Murray, and wait.