Human beings have this dilemma: it is the dilemma of selfishness.
We are free to choose between placing desire for personal happiness and goals
before the alleviation of suffering of others.
There are many in the world who justify self-centeredness
as being natural and necessary to one’s survival,
and it is not perceived as a problem
even though it is our greatest test as souls living on Earth.
The lesson of Earth, as far as inner development is concerned,
is for the soul to be encased in a host body
whose basic instincts cry out for personal survival;
for the host body in which we live,
the plight of others is naturally secondary.
For the indwelling soul, however,
it is the very opposite that is required.
We ask ourselves:
Is there a natural goodness in humans
which is linked to the conscience of a soul?
The answer, of course, is that we are here
to develop this very element of goodness
so that eventually it will be a natural reaction
to difficult circumstances on Earth.
The wise men/women among us
are those who are able to express in their daily deeds
the conscience and goodness of the soul
despite the instincts and demands of the body.
The need for self-reliance does not have to be in opposition
to a consideration for others on the planet.
Personal ideals and values can result
in general happiness for society as a whole
if we become fully engaged with the righteousness
of the soul-mind as the core power of Self.
It is said that human beings are like race horses
needing to be patient and to pace themselves
while embodied on the Earth.
The energy that goes into controlling the human body
must be parceled out carefully.
This requires intelligence and understanding of purpose.
Many are now at the stage of learning
the fine balance of ethical behavior.
When the soul lives in a physical world as dense as Earth,
it must learn to guard against being absorbed by it
in order to be effective.
Most of us start off our life making a lot of foolish mistakes
and by the end of our life we become smarter.
The idea of coming back in repeated incarnations
is that eventually we will get it right early on
and lead productive lives from the beginning.
We see this sometimes in young children
who have a mature outlook on life,
they have more discipline over their host bodies
and are less selfish towards others.
These are often the older and more experienced souls.
The solution for all of us to improve
is to stay with the process of continuing evolution
to become better than we are.
We are given many host bodies and all of them are imperfect.
Rather than being obsessive about a body
which will only last one lifetime,
it is wiser to concentrate on the evolution of the soul Self
and to rely more on spiritual power.
As we do this,
our capability for connecting with others will evolve
and eventually cut through the dilemma of selfishness.
This is a most insightful reflection.
Kudos to the author’s perception.
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