The Mirage of Selflessness
Self and selfless exist on a spectrum
A path of maturation
A path of relative perspective
From personal to transpersonal.
When you are young it is all about you
As you grow you see there are others too
Until when old, finally see those others
Make up the many, and you the very few.
All of us are hardwired for empathy
And compassion too
Although the two are not the same.
Empathy, connected to our pain centers,
Makes us feel other’s pain as our own,
A basically selfish concern.
Compassion, connected to our love centers,
Makes us want to take on and share
The suffering of others,
An inherently selfless concern.
Compassion doesn’t lead us to harm others
But empathy can. Empathy
Is what lies at the root of mass hysteria
Leading one to join a lynch mob
Soccer-fan riot
Anti-ICE protest
Or nationalist army marching to war.
Compassion is what leads us to see the other
As no different from ourselves
No matter what side the other is on.
In the end it’s really not selfless
It’s just self expanded
To include it all.
(1/23/26)
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