SELFLESSNESS

Today I woke up depressed. I stayed in bed calculating my problems. I laid there thinking and thinking. I thought about what I was studying, the project I was working on, and I worried if I would be taken into the masters program I had applied to. I then studied and went into town to pick up groceries. I go home to cook some food and while cooking I was listening to the news. Something about the whole day so far got me into a conversation with myself.

On the news was this Ethiopian man who was migrating to Saudi Arabia through Syria and had gotten severely burnt by a bomb blast. His lung and skin had been deeply burnt. There was a man whose every single breath was painful. I had woken this morning to breathe with ease. I was in school; I have things I could work on. I had my legs intact and I could go to the mall and had money to shop for groceries.

Yes my life is not perfect. Yes I do have many things that do make me sad. However, I realized the things I have that I worry about are gifts others lack. Someone out there may be worried about not having water at all and am worried if the water I have is clean enough. Someone hasn’t eaten in days and I am worried if my food tastes good. Someone has never worn a shoe in their life and I am worried if my shoes are of the latest fashion. Hilda what are you worried about? How important are those worries? I just realized I am being selfish. The selfishness we carry in our individual lives is representative of what is going on in the world. Above the color of skin, where we come from and all the lies the media wants to paint; the bottom line is the problem with this world is selfishness.

Selfishness is about me. Selfishness is having the world and pulling scraps out of the mouths of those who have nothing. Selfishness is consciously subduing someone else in order to create a gap of power. Selfishness is gaining image and prestige at the expense of starving and killing innocent children. How much do we throw away, how much do we waste on ourselves? What values are we passing to the next generation? Are we going to teach our kids that it is perfect to grab all you can even if it means walking over the weak? The media and the new movement of the world are creating hoarders instead of sharers. The philosophy of ‘ME’ will create wars, violence and crime. The world is a community of individuals and not individuals in a community. Selflessness will break the barriers of culture, color and religion. As long as you bleed as I bleed and cry as I cry; I should be able to share your pain.

I am on a journey to leave beyond the bounds of me. In these hard times as we live from day to day. Please do remember those who need what might appear as nothing to you. Someone is one word away from a suicide; someone is one hug away from breaking down. Let us look beyond ourselves and bridge the gap.