Morning Reflections, 9/14/24

It is 3 AM here. I am sitting at my coffee table writing this. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me out of nowhere: you have everything material that you need, and more. You eat well, have a great place to live, you can get quickly treated if sick, and other things. From this space I can improve my relationship with God, analyze my actions from the past in order to understand myself better (thus minimizing future suffering, and maximizing my potential). Self-centered indeed, but with a view to be a better self. Why, you ask, why would anyone want to have a better self? What's wrong with just being happy with who you are? Well, I'll share my thoughts with you on this subject, which appears related to the question, why be good? Aside from the comically obvious, the short answer is: in order to better serve others, and to please God.  Also, I know that happiness as a goal is doomed to failure-one mishap in life and it's gone. Happiness, exactly like success, is ephemeral and as such, not worthy as a primary goal. These things are by-products, often the mere result of living life in a manner proper to human beings. A better self, or, a self better than who he was yesterday, is desirable because it enables him to be more effective in serving others. So this morning, by focusing on gratitude and humility, I chase away a million useless, often harmful thoughts. It occurs to me that humility and service are indeed humiliating to the person who is proud, arrogant and filled up with the hubris of intellect and accomplishment.  Humility is realizing and accepting the simple truth of your own inadequacy, the truth that you know very little and therefore what you don't know is more important than what you do know. Service to others is not  being their butler, maid nor slave; it does not mean that you sacrifice unnecessarily (i.e., just for the sake of sacrifice). No, it instead means (in this context) a willingness to help others with love and sincerity.