As an exponent of mindfulness and present moment awareness, I am confronted on a daily basis by the stark reality of ever burgeoning global mindlessness, in its ugliest of forms.
That mindset that perceives that I am more entitled than anyone else on the planet to live my life to its fullest extent, with complete disregard for whatever impact that has on others, is the epitome of greed and selfishness. Such behaviour is usually coached out of us as children, generally through family intervention, or that of friends, educators and coaches. Socially, it is frowned upon to act in such a manner.
It is with complete disbelief that today we view a world that is mired in entitlement, with those in the most senior of leadership roles attempting to race each other to the bottom in attempting to procure domination and power over all others. Whilst there have always been pockets of seething discontent across the globe, it is only during the most archaic of times that a mass of insanity forces the majority of countries into global conflict. This is completely driven by ego and a skewed feeling of entitlement. It is staggering to realise that we, as a race, could choose to ignore the devastation of past conflicts, and continue to a path of oblivion with complete disregard for our fellow brothers and sisters.
How do we lose or forget those childhood lessons, as adults? Some deep breaths and a mental reset are essential to re-ground us and remind us that we are all completely reliant upon each other as we travel this path of life. From the clothes on our backs, the food in our mouths, our health, shelter and our careers, we require the efforts of so many others both locally and globally, to aid our survival and to allow us to flourish.
The next time you feel that emergence of ego hijacking your thoughts and propelling you to place yourself above all others, reset your mind. It is completely delusional to think that through division we can attain a better life for ourselves. This can only occur when we care enough about the needs of others to place them before our own. In this way we complete a cycle where everyone is considering each other. This starts in the home and ends on the other side of the world. Choose happiness and peace above pain and suffering.