Have you ever asked yourself, "How selfish are you?" Sometimes it is hard to know where to draw the line between being selfless and selfish. When we have our desires in life we are often selfish. The whole point of materialism is to have material things. We need to ask ourselves if it is really worth it to live this way.
Many times our personal relationships are the most important part of our lives. They are a direct reflection of who we are. When we are happy and content with our relationships we generally have positive feelings about our overall life. Yet if our relationships are not wholesome they can affect our overall sense of life. They can rob us of true happiness. They might even cause us to feel unloved.
So the question is do I selflessly give of myself? I believe that most of us have a certain amount of selfishness built into us. If you think about people you have known, both personally and artistically, you will find that they were selfless to a certain extent. Look at Picasso, Monet, and other artists who are considered to be very selfless. In fact, some of their most famous works were done as a result of helping others.
The main thing to remember is that when we are selfless we are more likely to want to help others. We will give of ourselves in a charitable manner. This can go far beyond just financial donations to charity. Helping a homeless person on the street may seem a small thing but the impact it can make is huge. A big donation like this could end up saving that person's life. Or donating money to a religious charity or supporting a worthy charity that helps women and children might also make an impression that will last a lifetime.
How selfless are we really? This is the big question that can't be answered with a simple answer. One way to look at this is by considering how we feel when we give to someone else. Does your heart burn when you give money to someone who you know is in need? Does the thought of a loved one being taken care of tickle your fancy? Do you get a sinking feeling when you think about all the starving children in the world?
Most of us probably feel some degree of selflessness when we give to our families and friends. This can be both financial and emotional. However, we will almost surely forget to take time out of our hectic schedules to care for those we love. This is where the danger lies.
If we think about this in a larger scale, we can see that the problem of selfishness and selflessness is much bigger than meets the eye. Consider if you will the current economic situation. All over the world people are becoming very aware of their impact on the environment. In fact many companies have been working towards creating and manufacturing products that are more self-sufficient, both in energy consumption and natural resources.
There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to give back to the world and to our fellow man. There is also nothing wrong with loving yourself. The key is to make sure that your actions fit into the larger scheme of things. If you are striving to be the kind of person you want to be and to do something for yourself, then you will find that being selfless is something you do on a daily basis.
How selflessness revealed is not just about giving up your wants for someone else. It's about recognizing that you can't separate what you want from who you are. You have to learn to love yourself first. When we decide to be self-independent, we often feel that we are doing the right thing. Yet if we spend all our time focused on how much we need someone else or if we believe our lives are empty without our partner and children, then our sense of self isn't self-independent.
That's when we start to look outside ourselves for approval. We give away our happiness at the hands of another for someone else's lack of it. How selfless are you in this situation? If we continue to do this we come to the realization that we aren't actually happy with who we are. Our sense of self is in fact secondary to other people.
To get to selflessness revealed we have to stop doing this. Instead we must choose to be happy with who we are and love ourselves for who we are. Once we are able to do this then and only then will we move forward with our lives with any sense of purpose. There is no one else there to make us goad us into feeling inferiority or unworthy.