It is Good to Be Alive

We are looking at selfishness and are trying to sort out the bad from the good. There is a part of our soul that has to do with passions and appetites; they rise up in the irrational part of our soul and aren't voluntary. If a person chooses to act directly from these without considering consequences, his actions are more like an unreasoning animal. The object of the passion becomes more of an obsession when ramifications are ignored. This is the kind of selfishness that we try to avoid. We dislike seeing it in others and in ourselves. These actions bring guilt to us. The things concerning pleasures and passions are the things that people compete over, causing anxiety. It might be called being materialistic, self indulgent or just plain selfish.

The good kind of selfishness considers quality of life in the rational area of their mind first. Someone who loves himself will hold his desires up to a light of  innate good principles that everyone possesses. These standards look at what is best for a person's life and point to what's noble. Noble actions are the ones that keep ones soul at peace. This is the characteristics of true love; to love someone's life, celebrate it and to do what is best for it. A person cannot overindulge in this kind of love.

This love will sacrifice present pleasure for a greater good. When we violate principles of virtue, it produces guilt in us. There are two kinds of guilt also. The damaging kind looks at past indulgences thinking they are impossible to forgive. This person can be hard on themselves and constantly loath decisions of the past. The healthy kind looks at poor decisions of the past and sees them as lessons learned. It is alright to judge ourselves and others. We can examine them in an unforgiving way or with a desire for their well-being. Good judgment is optimistic toward future decisions and potential. This includes a commitment to love ourselves and others in a good way.

 It takes far more strength to follow the right principles than to react on appetites and passions. Solomon said that a man who is temperate is stronger than one who can conquer ten cities. Those of us who have strong passions require more courage to be temperate. It is easier to act on passions than resist them. There are heroes around us we may not even recognize.