29th Post
Hi to all readers out there. June is coming to a close and soon, begins the month of July. How was your June holidays spent? School session just restarted recently. Excited ? Maybe not. All the cursing and swearing of not having anymore late nights out and more homework to do. Anyway, all the best in your studies.
Brought my dog to surgery yesterday for torn ligament. He got it while chasing a bird. Wanted to visit him at 7pm, but was too tired, because i was too tired, as i was only catching an hour (or at best 3 hours) of sleep for the past few days. I guess my biological clock really needs some tuning. Anyway, he will be discharged the next day, and everyone in the family is happy. However, due to the surgeon's orders, my dad set up boxes everywhere to prevent him from climbing up and down the steps and to prevent him from jumping about. And the barricade of boxes blocking the stairs and bedsides will be in place for the next 2 months. Poor guy, he needs to be on a leash whenever he wants to piss or shit. Oh well, it's for the sake of his recovery. And in the meantime, he'll be carried up and down the stairs. What a lucky dog. When i ripped my ligaments, how come nobody does that ? Oh well. The wonders of being a dog sometimes.
Tonight's short topic will be on "Selfishness". What defines a selfish person? According to the dictionary this is the definition:
self·ish –adjective
(quoted from http://www.dictionary.com)
Based on the definitions, i can safely bet that everyone is guilty of that, one way or another, even me. Some are selfish for the wrong reasons, and some are selfish for a right reason. But unfortunately, the distinction between the two has been so blurred until that we tend to associate everything and/or anything selfish to be bad. Sometimes, as i sit quietly on my chair, having a drink, i tend to wonder. Why is it part of human nature to be selfish ? Is it for protective reasons? Or is it to rise above others at a price? I don't know. Sometimes we hear of others saying that "oh, that person ah? very selfish !" But have we ever stop to think and speculate on the reasons behind it? "Does that person have a very good reason to be selfish?" Of course, chances are that we don't bother to do that and thus jump to our own conclusions.
Of course, doesn't mean that you have to be generous all the time. Guess it's the failure to see when to be selfish and when to be generous. A very good example was when i was reading a magazine in my dad's office today. The text was (and i quote with some modifications, as i don't like to mention names) Country X refuses to share viral genome sequence with Country Y. Now, in this case, it was being selfish for a wrong reason, perhaps for financial gains, or for some other random reason. But at the end of the day, it will be a biological disaster for other countries in the world, because of Country X refusal to share information. Another example of the consequences of being selfish, is not wanting to share information on possible terrorist targets. Again, why 9/11 occurred, was because of selfish intentions, in the name of secrecy!
But yet, to be generous at the wrong time also has it's consequences. And that comes in the form of loose talk about national security and state secrets. Of course, this also applies to corporate trade and business secrets. And that is where the good points of being selfish about information comes to play, because of the threat of possible terrorist attacks and/or corporate espionage.
But sad to say, there will always be people who are selfish and/or generous at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. And thus with this final paragraph, i ask you this: Is being selfish better or being generous better? Or must it be of a balance of both ?
Brought my dog to surgery yesterday for torn ligament. He got it while chasing a bird. Wanted to visit him at 7pm, but was too tired, because i was too tired, as i was only catching an hour (or at best 3 hours) of sleep for the past few days. I guess my biological clock really needs some tuning. Anyway, he will be discharged the next day, and everyone in the family is happy. However, due to the surgeon's orders, my dad set up boxes everywhere to prevent him from climbing up and down the steps and to prevent him from jumping about. And the barricade of boxes blocking the stairs and bedsides will be in place for the next 2 months. Poor guy, he needs to be on a leash whenever he wants to piss or shit. Oh well, it's for the sake of his recovery. And in the meantime, he'll be carried up and down the stairs. What a lucky dog. When i ripped my ligaments, how come nobody does that ? Oh well. The wonders of being a dog sometimes.
Tonight's short topic will be on "Selfishness". What defines a selfish person? According to the dictionary this is the definition:
self·ish –adjective
| 1. | devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. |
| 2. | characterized by or manifesting concern or care only for oneself: selfish motives. |
Based on the definitions, i can safely bet that everyone is guilty of that, one way or another, even me. Some are selfish for the wrong reasons, and some are selfish for a right reason. But unfortunately, the distinction between the two has been so blurred until that we tend to associate everything and/or anything selfish to be bad. Sometimes, as i sit quietly on my chair, having a drink, i tend to wonder. Why is it part of human nature to be selfish ? Is it for protective reasons? Or is it to rise above others at a price? I don't know. Sometimes we hear of others saying that "oh, that person ah? very selfish !" But have we ever stop to think and speculate on the reasons behind it? "Does that person have a very good reason to be selfish?" Of course, chances are that we don't bother to do that and thus jump to our own conclusions.
Of course, doesn't mean that you have to be generous all the time. Guess it's the failure to see when to be selfish and when to be generous. A very good example was when i was reading a magazine in my dad's office today. The text was (and i quote with some modifications, as i don't like to mention names) Country X refuses to share viral genome sequence with Country Y. Now, in this case, it was being selfish for a wrong reason, perhaps for financial gains, or for some other random reason. But at the end of the day, it will be a biological disaster for other countries in the world, because of Country X refusal to share information. Another example of the consequences of being selfish, is not wanting to share information on possible terrorist targets. Again, why 9/11 occurred, was because of selfish intentions, in the name of secrecy!
But yet, to be generous at the wrong time also has it's consequences. And that comes in the form of loose talk about national security and state secrets. Of course, this also applies to corporate trade and business secrets. And that is where the good points of being selfish about information comes to play, because of the threat of possible terrorist attacks and/or corporate espionage.
But sad to say, there will always be people who are selfish and/or generous at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. And thus with this final paragraph, i ask you this: Is being selfish better or being generous better? Or must it be of a balance of both ?
