Selfishness

There really are few things that truly upset me, but even those all have a common denominator: selfishness. I honestly, wholeheartedly feel repulsed by anything related to selfishness.

I realise there is a certain amount of self-awareness and self-love that every being requires for self-preservation. What really gets me is the overwhelming near-sighted attitude prevalent in our world. It's everywhere, and it's killing us all.

Talk about responsibility: 'I gain' is parent to 'we lose'.

It is this relationship that explains the oft-mentioned, but not less shocking, fact that about 1% of people 'own' more assets than the lower 80% of the population together. The amazing thing is that, in our selfish-led existence, we aim to perpetuate this divide, so long the 'I gain' manages (or has the illusion of possibility) to enter that 1%. Now, don't get me wrong, I think the kind of life enjoyed by that small group is great! I just can't find it in me to justify it at present, when it requires us to perpetuate the divide. It requires that the individual be selfish with regards to other people.

Selfishness separates us from our fellows.

Similarly, I find selfishness at the heart of cheap mass deals, while it also peeks out from under the folds of vanity consumption. If you doubt me, think about any bauble made from plastic that you have, and consider it's whole production until it reached you - the 'made in', the workers conditions there, the effect the mass produced thing has on the understanding of value in general. Then, think about the components in that year-old mobile phone you want to exchange for the newer version, and think about the components of the latter - do you know how much mining, refining, water and air pollution has gone into them?

The first kind of selfishness, a spin-off of the previous problem, tears us from our fellow human kind based on (mainly) nationality. It creates borders, conflict and inter-national resentment.
The second selfishness, swallowing more and more products, alienates us from the sources, from the provider, the plentiful Mother Nature.

But selfishness is not only a matter of grand socio-econo-political awareness. Selfishness kills us softly, insidiously, daily. It is the root of all disputes within a family, with your friends, with your lover. What did you last get angry at? Who did what, and why did that upset you? I have heard of people getting angry at friends getting invited to parties they have not been asked to; or others complaining to mourners for not having been informed beforehand; or a couple fighting over the dirty dishes (the one who did not clean ignored the needs of the other; or vice versa); or people hitting others for a scratch on a car... It is not that unusual, really.

I suppose it is the thoughtlessness of selfishness that hurts so. I guess, that is my own selfish position. But if you took time to think about your wishes, would you still make the same choices? Would you choose the separation and anger?

Selfishness, the real root of all evil. May you never know its scourge.