selfish

We humans are a selfish breed.

That comes as no surprise to a 2 year old, but we should do better as we get older, but we do not.

I may not have this right, and the story may be better than the facts, but as I heard it, one of the failing industries was offered a lifeline, but the biggies turned it down because it would mean a cap on their pay.

That the company might go broke and EVERYONE loose their job and income meant nothing to them. It was their selfish interests that came above others.

One of the really big grocery chains is located in my valley, or was. The company had been around for a long time. Various managers and CEO’s had done various things to the company, like expand beyond belief, by buying companies at questionable prices, and it had become a behemoth of a corporation.

Then a new CEO was hired. He figured (I am sure he had help) that if he could sell the company to some one else he could easily make a 50 mil pay check.

So he did. Thousands of lives were ruined, thousands of families had their future clouded, but by george he got his 50 mil.

Which brings me to the up close thought here.

I have a granddaughter who is a really good kid. She is strong and she is bright. But. . . Sometimes she can be as selfish as that CEO I read about.

The point here is not to hang dirty laundry, but to try to come up with a way to guide her. I am her grandfather, after all, and I have some clout still.

If there is anything I have learned from Miriam’s AD it is that most things are not worth arguing about. Few things are worth pushing my personal idea of “best.” Most of the time if by my actions I can make HER happy I am happy too.

Maybe that is not a universal lesson. Maybe I have it skewed a bit, but I think my basic idea is on track. Whether the plate is here or there really does not matter. Whether we eat in this order or that order does not matter, but how we get along with our family and friends determines the rest of our lives.

But I still like strong, powerful women. I still like strong caring men. I like children who are aware of others feelings.

I am afraid that I do not always do this one best either, but my having to have the last say so cuts the other person in ways I cannot always evaluate.

I fear that a lot of the emphasis in our country of late has been on ME. And truly ME is an important part of my life. But ME is not the only one that counts. YOU are important too. And even from a some what selfish motivation, if you are happy I can too. Said in an old fashioned way: If mommy is happy, every one is happy.

Somehow it seems that we were put on this planet, not so much to make sure we were happy and rewarded but to help others be happy and feel rewarded.

Whole philosophies have been based around those items. God, how can I help those around me to see the bigger, better picture, and how can you help me as well?