“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm; but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.”
T.S. Eliot “The Cocktail Party”
Fact: A complete stranger upon meeting you within the first five minutes of getting to know you, will know more about your flaws than you will ever learn in a life time.
Caught up in their own self-centered drama, most wander the planet fantasizing that they are a caring and kind person even when inside they know they are a absolutely reckless and uncaring. We all walk the fine line of wanting to be accepted and appreciated while anxiously defending our ego.
I agree with Alain de Botton –
However, there is a difference between living for approval and connecting with others without ego.
Living in a world where everyone is real. (an excerpt from Radical Acceptance)
One of the most remarkable things I’ve noticed about the Dalai Lama is how he treats everyone equally. When the Dalai Lama says “My religion is kindness” he is expressing his commitment to live with the unconditionally open and loving heart of compassion. Kindness is a facet of the jewel of compassion. It is the desire to help that arises when we remember that we are connected with every living being we meet. Each person is precious, each person is fragile, each person matters.
Remembering we are all real.
Read:
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Of Undisputed Origin 