Selfishness = Selflessness

I feel like I just swallowed an optimism pill. This feels great. After watching Obama’s speech last night at the Tuscon Memorial, it got me thinking… there is hope in this world. Despite my pessimistic view toward consumer-driven Americans, despite the misunderstandings and misinterpretations of religions around the world, despite the amount of corruption, poverty, malnutrition, ethnic conflict, environmental degradation, and the spreading of infectious disease, there is hope for the human race. There really is hope.

It doesn’t matter if we can’t change the world all at once, or that we can’t make the planet a perfect place to live. All that matters is that we make the changes for ourselves, and if there’s enough strength and resources left, go ahead and save the world. But by working on ourselves first, we reduce suffering in the world. Because if you are at peace, then it increases the amount of peace that people experience around YOU. And that is contagious.

We need to find BALANCE within ourselves if we ever expect to contribute balance to the rest of the world. And yeah, we’ve hit the 7 billion mark in terms of human population. And the population keeps growing. It’s not that we are going to automatically run out of space in the near future. But if we just find BALANCE with our lifestyles, it gives others a better chance at finding peace in their lifestyles.

In the words of Michael Jackon: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change.” It’s the truth, I’m telling you. And I’m going to live by this from here on out. I know there will be plenty of hindrances on this road to happiness, but the journey is more than half the fun. So, be selfish. This is your life, do what you’ve gotta do to be a better you. Only then can you help make this world a better place.