“If particles of some life coal fall on me and my son simultaneously, I will first of all dust off the live coal particle on me, before dusting off that of my son”, so said an old man.

The words of our ancestors are imbued with wisdom. But these days, the evolutions of time and events don’t always smile on all the wisdom of the past otherwise there will be no progress.

Even Aristotle, who was tutored and somehow inspired by Plato, once questioned some aspect of Plato’s doctrine to go a step further.

Our ancestor based their observation on the tendency of man to respond to impulse to establish this proverb. But impulse should rule lower animals, not man. Man is endowed with reason to overshadow impulse. To advance spiritually, and morally of course, we don’t have to respond to impulse, but reason.

Spiritually you could be classified as a lower animal, we respond to impulse rather than reason.

Do you know why our economy suffers? And why everybody complains, despite the fact the modern gold and oil run for us. Most of us think of nothing than how to feather our nests at the expense of the nation and the people.

Of course this has blurred our reason. That was why the legislator thought that he must twist the law so that he could conveniently plunder the nation’s purse even if that would mean retrenching some workers.

Now, because of their selfishness, and unpatriotism in addition, the state of the nation’s economy was ebbing to zero.

Everybody complains, everybody seems to hate the way things work in our society, but nobody seems to think positive change necessary.

The lack of harmony we experience is only the material repercussion of being self-centred.

If we were to realise the spiritual effect of being self-centred we would lament the more. Our bane is selfishness! Why not put interests of others first?

Whatever position we occupy, private or public, you occupy the sole interest of others. Every person consciously or unconsciously expects you to measure up to expectation.

How dangerous would it be if one holding a position of trust and importance would fall below expectation? Nothing destroys a society like selfishness, particularly when it is prevalent in a society.

At present you may be enjoying the fruit of selfishness, but in the long run, when the accumulated force of your selfishness pulls the society to crumble, you will regret, probably in the grave.

But think what force would you be when you discharge your duty unselfishly? What would be the spirit of a society, where every Tunde, every Musa or every Emeka would put the interest of others first, when discharging his duty?

Many people see themselves as separate individuals or entities. Nothing fundamentally destroys peace among men like this misconception. This ignorant conception corrodes the mind just like acid corrodes a ferrous metal. This wrong, but popular notion is the mother of selfishness in man.

In the totality of things mankind is never divided. A sublime sense of belonging will take possession of your deeds and words, when you truly and strongly feel you are never separated, that you are part and parcel of the society in which you belong. Always think in terms of all and always act in terms of all.

Feel that the very society in which you are a member is like a person, with all member of the society as a cell that build up the body, and you are that person or, in a lesser degree, that you are essential part of the imagine person- the society.

You don’t know how great you are created to be in the scheme of things, until you liberate yourself from the shackles of selfishness.

A nation can only become great, when her citizens eschew selfishness and work for the benefit of all.
https://warripost.com/greed-in-our-nation-2