Are you selfish?
SELFISHNESS v SELF-PRESERVATION
Selfishness is thinking of yourself ONLY! Self-Preservation is when you think of yourself, BUT with others in mind! If you we’ve ever travelled by air, you will recognize this image. I used to wonder why the cabin crew always told us to wear our Oxygen mask first, before attending to the passenger sitting next to us, even our children. It felt completely irresponsible and if I may say so, selfish, that adults would take care of themselves first, before taking care of even their children; during a drop in oxygen level
Thanks to a NASA research, we now know that “by helping others first or ignoring the mask altogether, a person will begin to lose his or her ability to recognize faces and shapes, and eventually pass out” - HuffPost. It was when I read this that I stopped judging the process. 2020 (+ possibly 2021) is a year of low oxygen level. It’s a year when we are all on a depressurized global airplane cabin. You’re not being selfish for looking after yourself and your family. As long as you have others in mind so that once you have enough oxygen and are stable, you can help others get theirs on. That is self-preservation.
Selfishness is thinking of yourself ONLY! Self-Preservation is when you think of yourself, BUT with others in mind! If you we’ve ever travelled by air, you will recognize this image. I used to wonder why the cabin crew always told us to wear our Oxygen mask first, before attending to the passenger sitting next to us, even our children. It felt completely irresponsible and if I may say so, selfish, that adults would take care of themselves first, before taking care of even their children; during a drop in oxygen levelThanks to a NASA research, we now know that “by helping others first or ignoring the mask altogether, a person will begin to lose his or her ability to recognize faces and shapes, and eventually pass out” - HuffPost. It was when I read this that I stopped judging the process. 2020 (+ possibly 2021) is a year of low oxygen level. It’s a year when we are all on a depressurized global airplane cabin. You’re not being selfish for looking after yourself and your family. As long as you have others in mind so that once you have enough oxygen and are stable, you can help others get theirs on. That is self-preservation.
Don’t be guilt-tripped into thinking that you’re being selfish for looking after yourself first, you should and you must. If you drop dead, people will mourn a few days, or maybe weeks and move on. Look after yourself!
It will be however selfish (and evil) if after being self preserved, you ignored those struggling to wear their oxygen masks to stay alive. Each one must reach one, each one must help one; after they themselves are breathing well on this collective depressurized global flight.
Credit: Kola Oyeneyin
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