To Be Truly Selfish Is To Be Selfless

From the day we are born we view this world from our perspective, a perspective where we seem to be the center of this reality. All that appears real to us is what we want, what we feel and what we think. Selfish nature seems to be innate within our brains and yet as we age, some of us develop a selfless nature for we learn to see from the perspective of the others around us. Those who suffer more understand the sufferings of others, those who experience hunger know what it is for others to go hungry and etc. Yet, with all the information around us to adequately equip us with the wisdom of the suffering and pain of all those around us, our selfish nature seems to prevail most of the time.

I used to be a bad tempered selfish brat that only cared about what I wanted, this eventually developed into how I wanted people to feel because obviously most of the time, I couldn’t get what I want and somewhere along the way, I realized that it was a downward spiral of negative emotion and desire which is selfish above all else. Eventually, I also realized that getting what I wanted out of the spite of getting what I wanted, never really filled that gap of want in me. That was where I started to learn to start the chain reaction of goodwill which would only come back to me and others I cared for… that was my first frail understanding of karma. What I want can pass as easily as a thought in my mind but the karmic ripples of thought and action could eventually rupture into a tsunami of destructive thought waves.

I’m 30 this year, I have met almost every kind of person there is to meet… by learning not to judge at an early age, I was able to befriend everyone from a junkie to a religious fanatic… by understanding the state they were in and why they are the way they are, forces you to accept why they need to be, who they are and what makes them tick. That in turn forced me to dig deeper in myself to see why I am the way I am. This cyclical inner self diagnosis can be overwhelming and tiresome at times; but it made me look at myself in the 3rd person for the last 10-15 years. That is why sometimes I am not even sure who I am, let alone the purpose of my existence.

With meditation and thought, I begun to see that what is, is, and why I exist? Is to simply exist. And to exist as me is simply not enough as we all exist as one and as many. Under a microscope we are an individual, but as a whole, we are one enormous conscious and sentient being, every single matter in the universe is a part of us. So to be selfish on a full scale, we would have to fill every want from everyone, which is impossible, so the next logical thought process would be to eliminate that pointless want. And that is why Wisdom and Compassion goes hand in hand. If you understand selfishness in love and in hate, then it would make sense to you to love all of ourselves (everyone around us) and hate all that would make any of us feel pain and suffering. And to achieve that, each of us would need to attain enlightenment, god’s grace and/or Allah’s love, for IF it can be possibly deduced that the billions of us are as one, why can’t the beliefs we have be similar, but merely tainted by interpretation and translation. For, it takes courage to love someone, but great courage to love everyone. So if you are innately selfish, like 99% of the world, you need to rethink the scale of the self that you comprehend.

by: case

Evidence of a Miracle

In a world filled with scientific empirical research and philosophical objective analysis, I hate to admit it, but usually I feel everyday is just an ordinary day…a day to consider schedules, responsibilities, ambitions and even how to survive in a dog eat world. Miracles? I think of it as more for the “holy”, for the “special people”, for the “privilege” or for those to whom “God loves more”. Everyday of my life, I always or more often neglect what is really the essence of a “miracle”. Today, my spiritual eyes where to open or view this world, as I grow thru the grace of a God who loves me tenderly even I always feel that I am the “most sinful” and the most “unclean being” in this earth. Journey with me for a little while even though this moment is fleeting and very ordinary; let us see the essence of a miracle and give thanks to everything we have or not have so as to grasp the whole substance of it.





Changed Life. In our blindness and pessimism, we always neglect that true miracles are seen in a life that metamorphoses in full blossom during pain, crisis and even trauma. The ability to forgive the traitor or killer , the strength to move on after betrayal after betrayal or even to comfort others even in the midst of cancer are miracles that never been considered since it is purely “subjective and “ emotional”. To kiss a traitor after an arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, to be abandoned by Peter to whom you thought was your “best friend” or even be whipped by people to whom you’ve given your life unto. Today, it seems “ordinary” to listen to this message. Usually you’ve heard this several times, in the pulpit, in retreats and even to conferences of leaders. Miracles are always categorized as something “objectively extraordinary”, usually I myself categorize miracles as “magic”…often I view it as “make people believe that there is really beyond what we are capable at, or changed the view of gravity”. Sadly, I wasted many decades of finding “angelic messages, apparitions and even the voice of God” to some degree I lost the real essence of a miracle. Real miracle is seeing by “FAITH “the invisible beyond the visible eye can perceive. Real miracle is actually everyday. It takes only a moment to grasp and see it. For when we die, we will loose and we will miss the strand of significance that binds us towards God and our destiny. It is a miracle that we met. It is not an “accident” in the cosmos that we loved one another. It is not by “chance’ that we connect and relate to one another. Also, lest we forget, it is a great miracle today that we saw each other to remember that our “meeting” will not happen again. Moments like this will not repeat. For each time and second that moves and tick is a sign that a “miracle had passed by. Our destiny is intertwined to influence us to move towards life and fulfill it. We met so that I may changed you and you…changed me also…Funny isn’t it? We belittle moments everyday and ignore relationships which are by products of a changed life. Think for a moment. Feel this time when you read this. Reflect. What is really your “greatest miracle”? Is it the healing of a cancer patient ? The levitation of David Copperfield? Or even the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Manoag? All of this are relentlessly USELESS without a changed life. For the essence of a miracle is not “on the miracle itself” but on the person who received it. For to be considered as a miracle we need to know that miracles happen to reveal to us the contents of our heart. If everyday, we cannot appreciate “everyday miracles and blessings” how much more the “GREAT MIRACLES” that will come. In life, there is no small or great miracles. It is the person who is changed that will determine if the miracle is true. God did not leave us. His intimate hugs are always on the world that we live in. The words “ I love you” of your love ones, the “ hugs of your mother”, the “new friend that you’ve met, this are the miracles we always neglect. I will end this with a note saying, “do not miss a miracle”.

Yes, we commit mistakes, we hurt people we love so much. The “miracle” that bind us together are “invisible “ forces such as prayer, such as loving again after being hurt, crying after hardening one’s heart, grieving over sins, repentance, telling the truth and accepting defeat, taking off denial, forgiving one self, marrying again, trusting your parents again for the 359th time, believing on a God who seems distant, going to church even it seems that hypocrites flock to that place, believing in yourself again…and last believing in a miracle…is indeed still a miracle. Are you ready to see a miracle today? You already have it. See it. Appreciate it. A heart of thanksgiving is the best place to start a miracle. God bless.

by: Sir Darius Candelario