I, ME, MINE

There’s that great Beatles song called “I, ME, MINE” that I was recently reminded of, especially part of its lyrics: “All I can hear, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.” Have those words ever been more true? I seriously doubt it. While selfishness is nothing new (that’s for sure), its acceptance as a norm by the vast majority of our society is. And of course, the media, by shoving these values in our face with the likes of mindless reality shows, has influenced the energy field that people hook up to. And the absorption rate is high.

How can you avoid this self-centered approach to life, while still participating in society and enjoying all the wonderful things around us?  Here are some tips:

1. Turn off your television. I unplugged about a year ago, and I could not be happier. Of course, I still watch movies of my choice and brilliant television series (some incredible foreign ones, btw- I recommend MI5) that I choose to watch without any commercials, on Netflix.

2. Stop thinking about your needs all the time. I am not advocating living like Mother Teresa, I am just suggesting that your needs don’t always have to prevail. When you can really be happy when someone else gets what they want( and not just say you are- I mean really be happy), then you have come a long way. One of the strange by-products of this shift in thinking/consciousness is that it takes less for you to be content.

3. Take your time with people. It could be argued quite effectively that “people are the most important product.” If this is true, than shifting your focus onto people, notand away from things, or football scores, or market shares, or profit margins, could be the way to go.

4. Go easy on yourself. Most people have a negative tape constantly running in their minds, which lists all their deficiencies. This could be one of the reasons people feel the need to be so selfish- to counter all that negative garbage they feed themselves. Be good to yourself, and practice talking words of kindness and love to yourself. This alone can bring such happiness and peace, that the need to be “selfish” will gradually just fade on its own.

5 .Understand what it really means to be grateful. There are many people in the world living in areas of terrible conflict or deprivation. You live in the United States, where this is not the case. Be grateful for all the opportunities at your door, the air that you breathe, the people that you love. Institute a daily five minute “gratitude meditation,” and expand it as you like.