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Everything you do is for yourself

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posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:42 PM
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reply to post by UnknownPhilosopher
 


Yes, so many ways to see it haha, which is why this is just an exercise to help see more than one of them



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:42 PM
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You wish to save humanity, but you're tortured and killed instead by humanity's suppressors for this wish. Your subsequent death sets in motion the eventual peace of the world.
edit on 13/4/11 by AdamsMurmur because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:45 PM
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reply to post by chancemusky
 


Very true. Good post by the way. These are always fun. Now you've got my mind running wild. This could be a long night.



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:45 PM
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reply to post by AdamsMurmur
 


Exactly, YOU wanted peace.



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:45 PM
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reply to post by UnknownPhilosopher
 


Haha, mission accomplished then!



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:46 PM
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youre at a counter a store...theres a man with his 2 kids in front of you and is counting out pennies to see if he has enough for the loaf of bread to go with the peanut butter and some candy to feed his kids and you know that he may have enough fo the bread but not the candy..and you look at the kids excitement from thinking that they are getting candy that you know again that they probably dont get alot of things that other kids do and the heartbreak that both the man and children will feel when they find out that they didnt have enough money for it....so instead of letting the kids be disappointed and trying to keep the dad from feeling embarrassed and ashamed that he didnt have enough money,you give the guy 10 bucks and telll him to"take it bud and enjoy,let your kids get some more extra treats"...i can tell you that this was an actual event and i didnt do it for myself to make me feel better... i did it for the dad who i knew was doing as much as he could to try and take care of his children and for the kids because they shouldnt ever have to feel any different than other kids that have parent that can provide them more than they need...and because it was the right thing to do..it wasnt alot but im not rich and gave him what i could and after i saw the kids faces i wished i woulda had more to give
edit on 13-4-2011 by gdaub23 because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:47 PM
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reply to post by chancemusky
 


How's that selfish?
Just because you "want" something doesn't mean you want it for yourself.



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:49 PM
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reply to post by AdamsMurmur
 


You still wanted to do it, and because you want it makes it selffish



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:50 PM
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reply to post by gdaub23
 


But you chose to make their life a little bit better, you wanted to make it better



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:50 PM
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reply to post by chancemusky
 


Lies, otherwise words like "humbleness" and "selflessness" wouldn't exist.



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:52 PM
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reply to post by AdamsMurmur
 


There are such a vast array of emotions, thoughts, etc. that can go along with any of these situations. There is always the possibility of doing something out of complete unselfish thought and later once you look back at it ( if your still breathing ) you might have a sense of gratification, which in my opinion is perfectly fine.



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:52 PM
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reply to post by AdamsMurmur
 


smeruffel. That word exists, but doesnt mean its true
and perhaps humbleness is an ideal? But not possible?



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:54 PM
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reply to post by chancemusky
 


but i didnt do it for my own selfish reasons,i did it for them because it was the right thing to do
edit on 13-4-2011 by gdaub23 because: because i must



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:55 PM
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reply to post by gdaub23
 


Why is it the right thing to do? And you think doing the right thing is good correct? So you wanted to do a good thing?



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:58 PM
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I thought of a good one.

Controlling currency, where you get a % of every single dollar created.

While forming a group of royal families that share this %.

Those royal families try to control the world, and at the same time being the richest people of the human race.

They do it for us though, we cannot buy your clothes without their money, no matter how crappy it makes the rest of the world...

edit on 14-4-2011 by Quasar_La-Zar because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:59 PM
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reply to post by chancemusky
 


Bordering on martyrdom. I can see your point as far as that goes but not all individuals want to be martyrs.



posted on Apr, 13 2011 @ 11:59 PM
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That's the greatest fallacy of our society right now.

It's true, you must love yourself before you can love others but you have to realize that you must first protect those closest to you (which begins with yourself) but you must put those that accept your company as someone who's needs/beliefs are equal to yours.

Most call this theory "love". And the way you can test if you love someone is if you would 'truly' trade your life or condition for theirs, no matter what fallacies they may have (humans or conscious beings alike)

I bet most everyone would be hard pressed to find that they love anyone nowadays outside of the first three months of meeting a significant other or having a child.



posted on Apr, 14 2011 @ 12:00 AM
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reply to post by UnknownPhilosopher
 


It is, but that gratified feeling can also be just plain relief (for what it's worth).



reply to post by chancemusky
 


Well, IMO, the only thing that is not possible (or at least extremely rare) for us is complete perfection. Being very humble is something I've learned at a really young age. I know it's more than possible, but it's hard to call upon it all the time.



Martyrdom is a good point.
edit on 14/4/11 by AdamsMurmur because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 14 2011 @ 12:00 AM
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reply to post by gdaub23
 


Nobody is saying what you did wasn't good, because it was. But when you saw the joy on those kids faces I bet you felt good. It was a great thing to do, but ultimately selfish.

The hang up is the stigma placed on the word selfish. It shouldn't be bad! No good can come without the humans desire to serve themselves through helping others. Humans are social creatures, we can derive joy from the joy of others, it is hardwired into us and thus when we prompt joy to others we are serving ourselves as well as them.

Perhaps we need a new word or way to qualify selfishness because there is selfishness that serves only you and selfishness that serves you and others. One is a virtue one is not...



posted on Apr, 14 2011 @ 12:00 AM
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reply to post by chancemusky
 


This is a conclusion I came to many years back. I am glad to see you are having such a hard time explaining it to others. Even very unselfish acts, have an underlying selfish tone to them. People our society sees as heroes do heroic acts because if they did nothing they would not feel good about themselves. Yes, we are all selfish. I think though that some selfish acts, that alleviate pain for others is the highest service a person can do.



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