Are you selfish?

I challenge you to come up with an action that you either do on a regular basis or one that you intend to do that is not selfish.

There are so many words and phrases that get used in the common vernacular that get put in such a negative light, even though the words themselves do not really mean anything bad. Today's example will be the word selfish. A fair definition of the word selfish would be something relating to or characterized by self interest.

In answer to my challenge you could say that you give money to charity. You could say you work to provide a home and food for your family. And lastly, just to try and throw me a curve ball, you could say that on alternate Saturday afternoons you make a list of all the things you can think of to do that day. Then you put the list on a dartboard and start throwing darts. Then you do whatever things end up with a dart next to them
 
At first giving to charity seems like a selfless act. However,  although it is certainly good, it is not selfless. When asked about your motivation you would say that you want to help other people. So you desire to help other people? Yes. And it makes you feel good to know that you are doing something for someone else? Yes. And that is why you do it? Yes. Then you have a selfish motivation for giving to charity. Even though you may be doing the right thing you are not being selfless. Anytime you are giving in to a want or a desire, the thing you are doing is selfish even if it is something that is mutually beneficial.

Working to keep a roof over the head of those you love and food on the table for them is certainly a noble thing to do. It is right and it is just. But it is not selfless. I say this for several reasons. First, if you live with the people you are providing for, you are keeping a roof over your own head and, quite likely, making sure there is enough food for you to eat  as well. It is just as beneficial to you as it is to them. But, why do you feed and house your family instead of just looking out for yourself? You do it because you love them and do not want them to suffer. You do not want them to suffer because you care about them and because them suffering would cause you to suffer. Even if you did not love your family and the only reason you provided for them was because you believed it is the right thing to do, it would still not be a selfless act. I say this because your motivation then, is wanting to do the right thing. You are still doing what you want to do.

By now I am sure you can see where this is going. Making up a list and using some random factor to determine what you are going to do for the day is still not selfless, due to fact that the reason for you coming up with this idea was to fill a want or desire that you had. It is still selfish. Feeding, clothing and sheltering yourself is selfish. Grooming and maintaining good personal hygiene is selfish. Just about everything that everyone ever does is selfish. Unless you can find a way to do something where your want and desire takes no part whatsoever yet you still have the freedom to make choices every act you take will always be selfish.

Anytime you are doing something where you get something out of it, be it physical, spiritual, mental or emotional, where your motivation is want, desire, or preventing something that you do not want or do not desire, the act is selfish.

Being selfish can still mean doing good things for other people. Make no mistake though. I am not saying that being selfish is always good, just as I am not saying that it is always evil. It is when a person does something that is good for themselves but bad for others, realizes that it is bad for others and does not care about it that being selfish is bad. People that frequently make those choices need to be avoided as much as possible. But if you were to avoid everyone that was selfish, you would have to avoid yourself as well as pretty much every other person on the planet.

The universe

The universe provides.

I do not remember where I first heard that statement. But it has been the cornerstone of much of my philosophy about life. And In my personal life I can say without the slightest bit of doubt, that it is true.

Whatever it is that you really need, a way to obtain that thing will be provided. Now maybe, when the opportunity comes along, you might decide not to take advantage of it because of how it looks or strings that may be attached. But salvation will always be offered.

Have you ever noticed, that some people just seem to have all the luck? Good things always happen to them and life just seems so easy for them?  I would be willing to bet you money that whoever it is that you see that has their life work that way believes as I do that the universe provides. It is not luck. It is positive thought driven by faith.

A friend of mine always shakes his head when I go on about this because he sees that for me it is truth but for him it is not. And all I can really say about that is he does not have faith in anything unseen. He's a huge math nerd and very logical about things.  We are both very intelligent and know a great many things about the world. But I know there is much more to the world than what can be seen and heard. There are things that can only be felt and directed by one who has faith that things will turn out in an acceptable way.

The best decisions that I make are often made when they are done on the principle of faith alone. It is important to know where you are going and it is important to plan how you are going to get there. But the decision to get somewhere has to come first. After all no person has the time or inclination to plan out every single step of every possibility for what they could do before deciding to do something new. The fact of the matter is that you want something. Declare that you will obtain it. Do not worry about how. How will come along afterwards.  The universe will provide the way if you provide the desire.

What has occurred to me only recently is that in not wanting to seem greedy, I have never asked much of the universe, just enough to get by. And I have been very successful, in just getting by. I was content to just float through life neither rising nor falling, just maintaining.  It has also recently come to my attention that many of the things that I would like to do are not going to happen if this habit and pattern continue.

The universe and I get to have a new conversation.  If you have been reading along with me for awhile now, you may know that, I feel my purpose in being is to positively impact the lives of as many people as I can for as long as I can, as part of a goal to make the world a better place.  Making a few hundred dollars a month is not going to make that happen.  I have discovered that I can do more for the world with wealth, than I can without it.  My desires are changing and as such my results will change. Having found the vehicle that I intend to use to create that wealth, now it just falls to me and the universe to make it happen.  The universe will provide the plan and I will take the action.