I am conscious that the overwhelming majority of motivation is self-centered because we are human, perhaps as high as 90%. It doesn’t have to be consciously striven for; it exists naturally. To me, consciously striving for selfish reasons, especially at the expense of others, either indirectly, or by manipulating others, staunches the flow of good will and give and take within a given community, and should be thoroughly discouraged.
Unfortunately, American society rewards these motivations, rather than discourages them. The more sociopathic the tendencies, the higher one tends to rise in political, social and corporate ladders. This sends the wrong messages that ripple out into communites in concentric circles. The best illustrations of this can be seen in stereotypical inner cities that have suffered decay in the moral stances of parents to thier children, to those children becoming gang members, with the overall mesage being to “Look out for number one”. In other words, it’s all about the self. There is little difference in attitude between a gang member and a corporate executive or political pundit.
How well do you really know yourself?
Very well. There is perhaps 10% left that mystifies me.
Do you feel that you’re a well-grounded person?
Yes. My personal values tend to set me apart from the majority. In that way, certain aspects leftover from my past, and the drive to become more internally, have created somewhat of a separation between myself and other people, but the ego remains in check. I allow myself to feel humility, which creates an acceptable balance for the purposes of socialization. A self-made adaptation that, while not perfect, works well enough for myself and others to mutually benefit.
How far on the path to self-development do you think you are, or do these things even matter to you?
These things matter to me enormously. I am not close to what I envision the the ideal person to be. I am perhaps more than half way to that vision, but I am aware that I am only one major disaster away from turning into the very person I never wanted to be. One of my children being brutally murdered would do the trick. I am under no illusions of my current standing. It’s a matter of beating the clock; I do the work I need to do so that, if that disaster does come, it will be worth it to me to fight the natural desire to hunt the person down.
If I paid attention ONLY to what needs improving within myself, and not everybody else’s problems, I would still have plenty of work to keep me busy for the rest of my life. The irony is that, until you learn self love, the views of yourself are set so askew that the reality of where you really are, compared to where you THINK you are, have little in common. The landscapes are completely different. The further you go down the path of self love, the more you discover that you were never broken in the first place.
Composing members:
0
Composing members:
0
