Many a time, we end up being selfish and
self-centred. Seldom do we look beyond our needs and
interests and seldom do the needs and plight of others
bother us. Living for others is now the motto of only a few
noble souls. We fail to realize that while selfishness keeps
the mind under constant pressure, selflessness keeps it
serene.
Instances of our selfishness are at times
subtle and at times blatant. We are selfish when we do not
give time to our children, our parents and our loved ones;
we are also selfish when we do not shower praises our
contemporaries deserve; not solving the problems of others
when we very well can also falls in this ambit; not spending
on the needy for fear of ending up poor is also a selfish
act; we are selfish when we do not realize that a wedding
function or festivity might bother our neighbours; we are
also selfish in not supplicating for others as much and as
frequently as we can; a thing as trivial as smiling to make
someone’s day too at times does not cross our mind.
Selfishness, it seems, is deeply
ingrained in us and we need a constant effort to get the
better of it. Perhaps the starting point to combat it is to
start with not so difficult a task: we can begin by just
looking around our house to find things which will never be
needed by us and which are totally redundant. Experience
shows that if one looks with such an eye, one ends up with
loads and loads of such things. Parting ways with them
should not be very difficult as these things have little or
no use for us in the first place.
Some of the following tips may help us
further in this effort:
1. We should stop taking credit for good
deeds we do, and in fact hide these deeds from others
thinking that God knows them and He will duly reward us.
2. We should take up some voluntary work
and try to spend time, effort and our skills for others.
3. We should save money every month
specially to use it for the welfare of the needy. This money
should be over and above the designated amount God has
imposed on us.
4. Reading inspirational stories of
selfless people and spending time in their company if one is
lucky enough to have them around helps a lot.
5. A selfish motive may be of help here:
we can forget our own pain if we become selfless. When we
live and work for others, it makes us see how better off we
are than so many others and this makes us thankful and
satisfied souls.
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