I thought I could see clearly.
We thought the world was once a good natured beast that needed the tiniest training. We thought that most folks were good hearted. We all wanted to bring about good and great things. We all wanted the best that there is for our homes and our communities. I see now that we were small minded. We made the mistake of not counting on that innate little evil we all deny - self interest.
Everyone is in it for themselves.
I am not immune to this either. I thought that I was a selfless individual. Indeed, I thought quite highly of myself. I was good because I gave. I was good because I cared. I was good because I kept my list of good things my church told me would make me happy. I was good because of all the little things that I did and all the big things I didn’t do.
Here is where I was not so good.
I wasn’t in it for myself. I gave and wondered how my offering could be scorned so. I gave and gave, never thinking about what it was costing me. I never stopped & asked myself if it was good to give and like most things the answer was yes………and no.
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"The road goes ever on and on." Tolkien
1 comment:
I think it is all how you define selfish. Self-interest is what drives humanity and even though we do something good for someone else, knowing we will benefit in some way, I find it hard to define that as a selfish act. Even if it is just the good feeling you get from helping, you have still benefited. Everything we do in life is based on the outcome. If I do something and like it, chances are, I will do it again. I don’t think that is a bad thing at all. At least the reward I have received has given me incentive to continue benefiting others. We are fooling ourselves if we think self-interest should not be part of the equation. Even in religion, the God’s are always doing things for their own self-interest. Did God destroy nations to save THOSE people? Nope, I think he said he was saving HIS people. After all, if God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, was there no self-interest on his part? I can’t imagine that he did that only for man’s benefit without realizing that he, too, would benefit from seeing his creation grow into its potential. At least my God thinks about how we will all collectively benefit from being good to each other.
I think we are too quick to label people as selfish and demand that they not ever think about their self-interest. Being selfish really requires you to only think of yourself, never giving thought to others. Striking the balance of giving and receiving is the equilibrium we should seek, in my opinion.
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