Oprah Winfrey (of all people!) encourages us to surround ourselves with positive, affirmative people and to get the negative people who devalue us out of our lives.

It's not that we don't care and it's not that we don't have a heart, but if we're going to try to be the best that we can be, then we can't associate with toxic persons who want to use us for their own selfish ends.  And sometimes giving in to the demands of those people doesn't improve their situation or ours, but just continues an endless cycle of codependency and of want and suffering.

Sometimes you just have to Marie Kondo some people out of your life.

Sorry if this sounds cryptic, but we had to get it off our chest.