Showing posts with label egoism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label egoism. Show all posts

Friday 18 October 2019

Problems on a dark road and A look at our ego-centric world

On our trip in the South of France we got stuck in the darkness not finding one of the resorts where we had booked to stay for a week. The four "alarm"lights were put on flickering whilst I went out of the car for searching someone who could help us.
My wife and the dog stayed in the car and got middle fingers up from drivers speeding along our car and having their horns blast. After more than twenty minutes there was some car stopping; Out came an African 'rapper' who was friendly to help us on our way.

Were there no French people willing to stop because of fear? Did they not want to have a confrontation in the full darkness of the late evening?
Or was it fear of judgment, guilt, shame, blame – all forms of attack that drove them to quickly pass the car which had surprised them in the middle of the night?

Clearly ego believes that by giving one loses what is given and today people prefer only to receive and not to give away. They were eager to have the horns blow, and give us the idea that we were a danger on the road. (Which we were in a certain way, there in the full darkness.)

But how does it come that it took such a long time before someone was willing to help? Flickering danger lights had to give a sign that we were in need. Though a confrontation with someone in need does not seem to be something a West-European wants to be to come in contact with in these times of abundance, where not many want to share with others. Imagine that we would ask something they had to share?
The speeding drivers wanted to make us feel that we had to be crazy to stand still in the darkness. Their ego was so quick to pass judgment and offer guilt, and in a certain way they succeeded by the amount of cars and noise they made to give us that annoyed feeling of stupidity and fear.

Perhaps their ego believes that making others guilty cleanses one of one’s own guilt. It projects hate in an effort to purge hate. The ego’s automatic form of defence is attack. It reasons that the more it attacks the less liable to attack it becomes.  What it gives, it loses.

That is one of the great problems of our society today. The individuals their ego has grown so much, there is no place for an other human being nor for some divine Creator. They want to be their own boss and to be in full control themselves.

"Leave the other person alone with problems and don't worry about what may have happened,"
 they think and continue their selfish path.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Always set a place in your life for the unexpected guest


"Always set a place in your life for the unexpected guest."
- Unknown

When God turns away from us because of selfishness, it is not rejection.
Rather, it is an invitation to follow Him
to a place we would rather not go.
- Brennan Manning

"Let brotherly love continue.
Do not forget to entertain strangers,
for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."
Hebrews 13:1-2

Even though I sometimes may be busy in my life,
let me make more time available for unexpected guests.
Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Voorzie steeds een plek in je leven voor de onverwachte gast
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2013 update

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