The Self

In continuation with the last entry - to truly understand human character, one must truly understand oneself. Thus raising the timeless question, "Who am I? Where am I going?" The question is so simple, yet so profound. The beauty of it is that the answer is what we make of it, or in other words, what we make of ourselves.

Let's explore the second part of this question, "Where am I going?" Objectively, this question translates to: What do we do with this precious lifetime that God has generously bestowed upon us? This gift of life. so vigorous, yet fragile. so beautiful, yet ephemeral. Resembling an annual garden flower, growing in the spring, blossoming in the summer, pollinating and then decaying in the fall, finally returning to the ground in the winter.

As we journey through the vicissitudes of life, we eventually discover our own answer. The shape and sizes of these answers seem immeasurable at glance, but after incisive analysis, they unite into two forms - the selfish and the selfless. Everything we undertake can be judged under the two categories. The former should be an familiar sound. It is, after all, a natural inclination and survival instinct to serve ourselves. Majority of us pursue selfish interests, and it is not deplorable in any way. Many great achievements of our modern day society have came out of personal interests. As Adam Smith postulated, "By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society".

Of course, "frequently" is often not enough. Selfish ambitious of powerful men can, as history have shown, result in an adverse effect for our society. Therefore, the ones that strive for the altruistic latter are the ones to be truly commended, for their sacrifice reminds us of the goodness and purity that are still left in this world. They could be anyone, the brother that looked passed your faults and accepted you the way you are, the stranger that helped the you when you needed it the most, the friend that stood up for you when you were mortified. But the most precious gift they gave us is that - they inspire us, to be greater than we are.

In the end, it comes down to choice. The everyday choices we make in our lives. They remind us who we are, where we are, and how we are shaping our own world. Here I want leave you with a question to ponder, "How big will your world be?"

A person starts to live when he can live outside himself
- Albert Einstein