Altruism??
We here in our house are bored with the daily grind but I always try to stir it up a bit ya know, in order to keep what sanity I have. Something as simple as running errands can be a chore, but Mommy stops at the park along the way while the milk gets warm in the trunk. She's so fun! We love you Mommy! Your are the best!
Well little do they know I am not the best, just trying to earn brownie points where ever I can. If they think the world of me, great, the extra effort pays off. They are not aware, as I am not usually, that I am giving them this chance to run free so they are not crazy monkeys when we get home. It is really self-serving, not fun for them as much as it is a relief for me.
I think most actions we do for others are not altruistic, very little is really, if you think about it. Look at all we do in our days here on Earth. What actions can we put aside to become more universally pure in thought? Act on the notion of Dasein. No ego. No self. Only the universal order or chaos, whichever way you see it. No conventions, labels, preconceptions. Be here now. In that I find my purest moments. I strive for this often, don't usually find it in the mundane buzz of daily life.
Think about it - how much of what we do along our path in life is to feed our egos? Do you do the things you do for you, or for the satisfaction of pleasing others? Is the act of pleasing others in reality pleasing you? Do you like making your kids happy so they will behave better for you, or to just make them happy?
I think it would be nice if we truly put ourselves aside for one day (maybe make it a holiday) and we all did nothing but self giving acts. Not something in the name of others to please our own needs, but completely 100% selfless acts. We would all see ourselves in a different light, and have a pure perspective on things the way they really are. As a whole, we would be better people, that would make for a better planet, I think. Or at least it would lend chance to us finding some universal synchronicity.
Be, just be.... try it, you may like it.
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Going with the flow:
A Taoist story tells of an old man who accidentally fell into the river rapids leading to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive. "I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Without thinking, I allowed myself to be shaped by it. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived."
3 comments:
Yippee... I can comment.
I think are so right, so much of what we do has "private jolt" of glee for us. Becoming selfless is not something innate, is it?
However, I would also say that there is something to that "private jolt" that works: it puts us into practice, it creates habit of compassion, and it reminds us to be present. I might at first take the kid to the park to get the wiggles out, but find in doing so that I really enjoyed it too--and maybe we had a conversation on the way home that we needed to have? Perhaps it paves a way to being selfless in the moment "after" the act, if not in the act.
(although it can so backfire--"the road to hell. . . :))
Glad to see you online.
Sometimes, the problem I have is being "the bad guy" to my kids. I mean, let's face it, Dad isn't home to be the Heavy very much. So, I might stop at the park for the selfish reason of not being the bad guy.
In general, though, I just like to see people happy. One more happy person makes a whole happier world, and I'm not concerned with degree. I'll take a billionth of a percent. Putting a giftie anonymously on a friend's doorstep, picking up some litter that nobody else bothered to, it's more the practicing random acts of kindness theorem.
Same goes for all other sentient beings.
The ego stuff is harder to deal with. I mean, I am PROUD that I can help at the animal shelter! It makes ME feel good as well.
But I am getting better at going with the flow. You learn to accommodate the water's will when you grow up surfing and Boogie boarding. When you go under, if you fight the current, you're in trouble. If you just let the waves tumble you for a second or two, you'll float to the top and breathe again.
I feel really bad when I see people who are trying to bend the unbendable to their will all of the time. It must be exhausting! No wonder they're so grumpy!
Weather permitting, I think I'll be the good guy and take the kids to the park Friday...
Happy Mother's Day, dear one. I hope you have a lovely, lovely day!
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