Inspired..!

I am never really inspired by any words of wisdom or any human being as such. Neither do any acts nor do any words of preaching make me alter my way of looking at life. I live by my own principles and thoughts.

For the first time, I happened to get inspired from this one book I read recently. It left such an impact on me that today I know what I lack and what I ought to change in me to improve my weaknesses.

The book differentiated between "selfish" people and "selfless" people. But the shocking aspect was that it upheld the values of selfish people and made them seem nobler than selfless people. The book said that selfless people preach altruism and consider others before self. The selfish people consider self before others. But there's no wrong to it. These so called selfless people are always bothered about others. They give charities, attend preachings by religious saints, act as philanthropists; but they do it only for the world to say that they are noble individuals. They want to be seen as great, they want other people to help them to fame and achieve the goals they had set for themselves. Their lives have no meaning. Such people are also called as "second-handers".

God has given each individual his own ability to think and decide. Each human has the right to think his own way and live & decide for himself. Selfish people think about self. These selfish people were the "creators". Creators of various inventions that are helping us live our lives today. But they never thought of others when they created something. The creators of "fire", "wheel" were all shunned in the very beginning. These creators thought individually because they had a selfish vision which helped them create with their own thought-process. Every man who invented, invented because he needed it for his own self. Such selfishness which leads to the betterment of all cannot be wrong.

The "second-handers" as mentioned above, do not have any brain of their own. They always want to know what others think of them. They quote famous proverbs and cliches rather than making their own. They act in order to be noticed, praised, to become famous. They have no life. They follow, copy, and act as desired by others. They think with umpteen other brains but forget that they have been given one by the Almighty. The best example is the fad for "zero-size". No one ever thought for himself whether it was correct or whether it brought happiness to one. No one ever aspired & worked for zero-size because it was their vision. All who worked for it, worked because a famous celebrity and the society preached that it makes one look stunning and ravishing. These "second-handers" were selfless, because they achieved that coveted body just so that others could look at them and include them in the elite category of "zero-size".

"Second-handers" believe in collectivism and selfish people believe in individualism, the self. The selfish or the creator always stands alone because he is opposed by many, who are the "second-handers". These "second-handers" do not have the courage to be the one who is correct and hence, opposed. If the society keeps thinking in such a manner then, true progress will never be attainable. Selfish people aren't bad. It's just that since ages our forefathers considered the word "selfish" to be a synonym for "evil". And just because we are "second-handers", we kept believing in this trend all throughout. It's time to break out of our so-called thinking which is based on others and have our own say on everything that concerns self.

Being selfish does NOT mean being rude and hurting others for pleasure of self. Truly selfish people never derive happiness or sorrow from others. They get it from their "self". Others never come into the picture. Being selfish means living for self without thinking what others would think of one. They are independent and free of all prejudices. They think, create, destroy, but all for their own self.

Lastly, the greatest irony is that I would love to follow all what the author has preached in his book and start being selfish, but then, wouldn't it make me a "second-hander"?